Baltimore Metropolis Council members stated Monday they’d maintain a collection of hearings on the town authorities’s response to its overdose epidemic, following an examination by The New York Instances and The Baltimore Banner.
The general public security and well being committees introduced they’d meet at the very least 4 occasions on the subject within the coming months, beginning in July.
“On the finish of the day, we wish to save lives,” Councilman Mark Conway, chair of the general public security committee, stated in an interview final week. “If we’re going to faux all the things is OK, we’ll by no means make any adjustments, and I believe that might be a mistake.”
The examination, printed final month by The Instances and The Banner, discovered that overdoses in Baltimore — pushed by the introduction of fentanyl into the drug provide — have been killing individuals at a charge by no means earlier than seen in a serious American metropolis.
Baltimore’s dying charge from 2018 to 2022 was practically double that of every other massive metropolis, a statistic a number of prime leaders, together with Mayor Brandon Scott, had not identified about till reporters advised them. Almost 6,000 individuals have been killed up to now six years.
Town as soon as had an aggressive overdose prevention technique, however as officers turned preoccupied with different crises, a few of their efforts stalled, the examination discovered.
Within the interview final week, Mr. Conway additionally stated he would discover altering the town’s price range to place extra money into overdose prevention, although he stated it was not clear how possible such adjustments could be.
In Baltimore, the mayor writes the town’s price range, however the Metropolis Council can vote to chop or enhance funding for packages. Finance officers have warned there may be restricted flexibility inside the $4.1 billion price range. Final 12 months, the council’s adjustments affected lower than 1 p.c of the price range.
Overdoses have been talked about sparingly in Mr. Scott’s preliminary price range proposal, which included $500,000 to increase scientific companies and buprenorphine therapy by the Well being Division, “totally funding” the emergency medical service unit of the Fireplace Division and “sustaining the present degree of service” for the Well being Division’s scientific service crew.
On Monday, nevertheless, the town introduced a $45 million settlement with the pharmaceutical firm Allergan, which was one in every of greater than a dozen firms it had sued, accusing them of serving to gas the opioid habit disaster. Maryland had beforehand settled with the businesses, however metropolis leaders had opted out of the state settlement to pursue their very own case. Thousands and thousands of {dollars} are earmarked within the metropolis’s settlement settlement for particular packages that assist individuals scuffling with habit.
The lawsuit towards different firms is about for trial in September.
Conway stated he wouldn’t permit public testimony on the listening to, in an effort “to not jeopardize” Baltimore’s ongoing litigation with different pharmaceutical firms.
“I’m searching for the town to elucidate merely the place we’re, not how we bought right here,” Mr. Conway stated.
Councilwoman Danielle McCray, the chair of the well being committee, didn’t reply to a request for remark.
Requested final week concerning the potential for hearings, Mayor Scott stated his administration “welcomes the oversight.”
Within the three weeks because the Instances/Banner examination was printed, metropolis officers have been repeatedly questioned throughout Metropolis Council committee conferences about their response to overdoses.
They’ve pointed to a number of steps they’re taking, together with the plan to create an opioid coordination workplace to handle the settlement cash and an “opioid stat” database to trace overdose deaths.
“The silver lining of the article, as uncomfortable because it was, was that it did give a variety of consideration to the challenges we face within the metropolis,” the town’s well being commissioner, Dr. Ihuoma Emenuga, stated on Thursday, including that her division had seen extra individuals reaching out within the wake of the reporting and searching for methods to assist the town’s efforts. “We are going to see extra assets, we’ll see extra consideration, and we’ll see the needle shift on this.”
Lillian Reed and Meredith Cohn contributed reporting.
