Baltimore City is seeking $5 billion from drug distributors McKesson and AmerisourceBergen (now Cenora) to fund a comprehensive plan to combat the opioid crisis after a jury found them liable for flooding the city with addictive painkillers. Public health expert Susan G. Sherman testified in the trial’s abatement phase, presenting a 15-year strategy focused on expanding medication-assisted treatment, overdose prevention sites, and social services to reduce overdose fatalities and opioid misuse, while the defendants argue the city is unfairly holding them responsible for broader societal issues. Originally published in The Baltimore Sun.

Susan Sherman is quoted.