ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – How should the City of Albuquerque use the $80 million it is set to receive as part of that massive opioid settlement?

That is the question city leaders are grappling with right now. The mayor wants to use the money now, while the city council thinks it should be used over time.

Now, APD Chief Harold Medina is weighing in.

“It does no good to release them back into the community without any resources, where I promise you they will re-offend because they still have a substance abuse issue,” said Medina.

That’s why Medina says he would like to see drug treatment services funded right now.

“We have to help the individual users not want to have that drug anymore,” said Medina.

The City of Albuquerque is getting around $80 million as part of a settlement from opioid manufacturers.

A proposal by city council would have that money set aside for incremental use over time and for specific areas like capital projects.

“None of the decision makers, outside of the mayor’s office, has picked up the phone and said, ‘Chief, what is your view on how this funding and how is it best applied?’” Medina said.

The chief agrees with Mayor Tim Keller who said this week that the money would be better spent right away, creating more treatment options and services to help people struggling with addiction like funding for the Gateway network.

Medina believes by doing so, it would free up his officers, who he says are spending a majority of their time responding to substance abuse and mental health calls.

“The best result for those cases is getting these individuals into some kind of program that is going to assist them with their substance abuse problems,” Medina said.

The chief believes if the city can reduce drug use, we will see a decrease in other crime like burglary and theft.

“It is not only that. Some of our homicides as of late are really related to street level fentanyl use or individuals who are under the influence,” said Medina.

There is no timeline right now for when the money could be released.