(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Attorney General’s office is launching a website for anyone looking for help with what’s being called “opioid use disorder.” Lynn Hicks, a spokesman for the A-G’s office, says the site also provides general information about opioid addiction in an effort to reduce the stigma surrounding the illness. Hicks says, “Not only is this aimed at people suffering from opioid use disorder, as well as their loved ones who want to try to get them help, but also to the public to let them know that this is an illness.”

A state report says 258 Iowans died of opioid overdoses last year. Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller says the website will direct Iowans to resources in their area while educating the public about the addiction. “It’s not a status of life. It’s not a series of wrongdoings, it’s a disease, it should be treated as a disease and it’s treatable as a disease,” Miller says. “Drug treatment can work.” The website is: Iowa Opioid Help-dot-com. Iowa expects to receive more than 170-million dollars from settlements with opioid manufacturers in the next 18 years, money that will be divided between state and local governments.

More online at iowaopioidhelp.com

(reporting by Natalie Krebs, Iowa Public Radio)