After a brief hiatus, Mobtown Mag is back to its regularly scheduled programming – and that calls for a news roundup.
There have been several headlines in addiction and drug policy news, so I will do my best to summarize some of the most important updates. Let me know if this is something you want more of in the future.
Here's the breakdown:
- The Maryland Department of Health on Tuesday dropped its new overdose data dashboard, which state officials say provides a new level of transparency amid an unprecedented crisis.
The new dashboard, which replaced a dashboard maintained by the state's Office of Overdose Response, touts more timely updates, historical data trends and ZIP code-level data. The dashboard includes numbers on emergency room visits and naloxone distribution.
“This dashboard will enable Marylanders who are at the forefront of the opioid and overdose crisis, along with the individuals and organizations supporting them, to have broader access to data and trends in overdose, and will further aid in data-driven decision-making in response,” Health Secretary Dr. Laura Herrera Scott said in a statement.
However, unlike the previous dashboard, it's impossible to compare the most recent county-level data to the year prior.
The old dashboard, for example, would show the number of overdose deaths in Baltimore City over the most recent 12-month period and compare it to the previous year.
The new dashboard provides the latest overdose death numbers broken down by county and ZIP code, but historical data is only as recent as 2023. This hinders the public's ability to see more recent trends, and it leaves Mobtown Mag unable to map out the latest overdose trends in a detailed manner as it had done prior.
In addition, the health department has decided to suppress county-level data if the death toll is low in a specific jurisdiction, so the dataset is inherently incomplete.
The takeaway: The dashboard contains multiple improvements. But it also stripped some of the features that made the previous dashboard helpful to those who wish to accurately track the latest data trends.
- Baltimore City received the $45 million from its settlement with the pharmaceutical giant Allergan, The Baltimore Banner reported, but $20 million will pay for lawyers hired by the city.
The settlement, reached last month, seemed to show that the city's decision to opt out of statewide settlements is paying off. But nearly half of the money it received will go straight to the pockets of lawyers.
Mayor Brandon Scott told The Banner the amount "may seem like a lot," and that's because it is. But he defended the city, saying the lawyers were only going to receive the money if the city won the lawsuit.
Mobtown Mag had previously reported that the city will use at least $5 million of the funds for its Peer Navigator Program and $5 million for Charm City Care Connection.
It will also create a board to oversee the spending of future funds, and Scott told The Banner $15 million would be spent on updating the city's strategic plan for the overdose crisis and investing in prevention programs.
The takeaway: The settlement was a victory for the city. But it's clear that taking the independent route is costly, and that should have been disclosed upfront.
- In news related to the settlement, a public hearing on the overdose crisis scheduled for July 10 was abruptly canceled amid a dispute between a councilman and the mayor's administration, The Banner reported.
Councilman Mark Conway, chair of the Public Safety and Government Operations Committee, announced the public hearing last month.
However, citing concerns about the sensitivity of ongoing litigation against opioid manufacturers, he was forced to cancel. Pro-harm reduction demonstrators voiced their concerns about officials' silence outside City Hall.
“I never agreed to cancel today’s hearing, and its cancellation was done against my express wishes,” Conway said in a statement to The Banner.
After the councilman said the council was in a "holding pattern" that prevented it from discussing ways to address the crisis, Scott's administration fired back, calling the assertion "categorically false."
Councilwoman Danielle McCray, chair of the Health, Environment and Technology Committee, had also planned three public hearings. But those will be postponed until the litigation has concluded, The Banner reported.
Scott's administration, meanwhile, has refused to comment on any matters related to opioids or the overdose crisis, as Mobtown Mag has reported.
All of this dates back to 2021, when the city refused to join a state settlement with Johnson & Johnson, an opioid manufacturing giant, as well as AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson.
Baltimore missed out on millions of dollars from the total $395 million settlement, but a trial date is set for Sept. 16 as it pursues its own litigation. It's unclear what it stands to benefit if it were to win.
The takeaway: While the litigation is important, and officials should be careful as to what they say, their silence makes them complicit in the overdose crisis.
- So, where does this leave Baltimore and its overdose crisis?
Well, it's complicated.
The city has demonstrated that it's capable of standing its ground with opioid settlements, which could give it the ability to make historic investments in harm reduction initiatives.
It's also clear, though, that opting to pursue its own litigation is incredibly costly, thanks to the city bearing the burden of legal representation. And City Hall is shooting itself in the foot by muzzling officials and preventing public dialogue as so many Baltimoreans die.
Baltimore saw a 5.56% increase in overdose deaths in 2023 as nationwide numbers dipped for the first time in five years. It had 1,045 deaths, according to the state's new overdose data dashboard, which is slightly down from its peak of 1,079 in 2021.
The more recent data seems to show some hope, too, even though it still has the highest death rate in the nation.
Just last month, when the old data dashboard was still live, it showed that there were 1,025 fatal overdoses in the city in the 12-month period ending in February. That translated to a death rate of 175 deaths per 100,000 people.
The new dashboard, meanwhile, shows that there were only 896 deaths in the 12-month period ending in May, a death rate of 153 deaths per 100,000.
It's undeniable that the city remains beleaguered by the fentanyl-driven overdose crisis, and it has a long way to go in terms of transparency and investments in harm reduction efforts. But it may not be too late.
The takeaway: As it now stands, the mayor's administration will have to open up the discussion and put its money where its mouth is if it wants to gain residents' trust and prove it cares about those impacted by the crisis.
Logan Hullinger is a Baltimore-based independent journalist. He can be reached by email at logan.hullinger@mobtownmag.com or on Twitter @loganhullinger.
Comments