COLUMBUS, Ohio — In an effort to battle addiction and mental health illnesses, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced Wednesday the allocation of $15 million from a federal grant toward treatment. 

DeWine’s office said the money will come from the state’s pool of American Rescue Plan Act funds, and said the money will be allocated toward the mental health and addiction care services system, specifically in the areas of youth prevention and early intervention services.

The addiction programs identified by DeWine will tackle marijuana and alcohol addiction instead of drugs widely considered to be more dangerous. However, the National Center for Drug Abuse Statistics recorded 3,674 annual deaths attributable to excessive alcohol use in Ohio.

“We know that 75% of substance use disorders and mental illness begin before the age of 25, and prevention and early intervention strategies are vital to building resilience and opportunities for long-term health,” said DeWine. “These dollars will make key investments in substance use disorder and mental health prevention programs and treatment services to help Ohioans live their best and healthiest lives.”

The money will be allocated in the following ways:

• $5 million ($1.25 million per year) for community coalitions and youth-led programs to address marijuana and alcohol prevention
• $5.4 million to support public health campaigns designed to enhance the perception of harm of alcohol and marijuana use
• $2.3 million to fund two pilot First Episode Psychosis Coordinated Specialty Care Virtual Teams
• $1.8 million to mitigate losses for uncompensated care at 17 existing First Episode Psychosis/Early Serious Mental Illness teams
• $307,926 for the purposes of adopting Healthcare, Outcomes, Network, Education (HONE)