BALTIMORE — Several years ago Baltimore City when confronting the Big Pharma companies that bore responsibility for the opioid epidemic. But after a big win last fall, it now faces a crossroads.
In June, Judge Fletcher-Hill proposed granting only a fraction of the $266 million awarded by a jury to the city against Americsourcebergen and McKesson at just under $52 million.
The judge indicated the damages did not match the liability had been proven in court.
“I think we all realize that it's a pretty significant hit and it does significantly change some of the grandiose plans that we had for that money,” District 4 Councilman Mark Conway said.
At the time, Mayor Brandon Scott said in a statement "this decision is disappointing to say the least. we are evaluating the decision and considering all of our options."
The city was given until Friday, August 8 to determine if they would accept the smaller settlement or go back to trial, after granting an extension.
Though one day before that deadline, it remained unclear what path the city would take.
WMAR-2 News spoke with some council members on what they felt would be best moving forward. Conway would not comment on the city’s legal strategy but said that the city is still in a good position.
“I think we're in a significantly better place than we were a year ago, 5 years ago, and if we can get this money on the ground and into the right hands and going to the right things, i think we can still make a pretty big difference here.”
District 11 Councilman Zac Blanchard deferred to the administration.
“I think the stance the administration has taken over the last couple of years has proven to be very effective and so i think it's fair to follow their lead on this one,” District 11 Councilman Zac Blanchard said.
So far, the city has won more than it would have if it chose to accept a global settlement at more than $400 million dollars total.
Baltimore has been disproportionately impacted by the opioid crisis, and continues to feel its effects.
In July, a mass overdose in Penn North hospitalized nearly 30 people, though quick intervention efforts are credited for no lives lost.
A week later, another five had been hospitalized.
According to reports, independent lab results showed that the tainted drugs had a powerful sedative mixed in with the typical compounds found in street drugs.
"We can address issues with opiate addiction, but when you have other drugs mixed in, we can't use naloxone. We can't use buprenorphine, we can't use methadone to help people deal with that addiction. And so now is the time. The longer we wait, the more we're going to see mixing and the more difficult it will be address some of the drug issues we have on our streets," Conway said.
On Wednesday night, the city hosted its final of four public listening sessions on the city's opioid response. An Opioid Restitution Fund Board has also been convened to figure out where to send the money.
“Now this work started a long time ago before any one incident and it continues to happen each day. There is no easy fix to this epidemic, and we will not succeed overnight but over a sustained period of time,” Mayor Brandon Scott said on Wednesday. “But we have never been in a better position to heal the damage done to our community.”
As part of the city’s strategic plan, they aim to reduce overdose-related deaths by 40% by 2040.