An opioid-ravaged West Virginia town awaits trial verdict

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (AP) — Sarah Kelly recalls the fleeting moments when she reached out for help during a decadeslong opioid addiction, only to find out no residential treatment beds were available in an overloaded system in her corner of West Virginia.

In the hardest-hit county in the nation's worst-hit state for drug overdose deaths per capita, Kelly’s struggles with prescription pain pills cost her custody of her two children. Her younger sister died of a heart infection from intravenous drug use in 2017.

Somehow, the Huntington resident wouldn't let her addiction win.

“I was so tired of living without them,” Kelly said. “I couldn’t live without them anymore.”

Six months have passed since closing arguments were held in the first lawsuit over the U.S. addiction epidemic to go to trial. It blames three pharmaceutical companies for their role in the opioid crisis in the Huntington area. For Kelly and others who know the desperation that comes with addiction, the time it's taken to render a verdict seems out of step with the urgency they feel.

Kelly eventually found treatment and went to court to get her kids back. She's been in recovery since October 2019. But that nightmare of being unable to locate a bed right away comes rushing back as a decision looms in the lawsuit.

Cabell County and the city of Huntington sued AmerisourceBergen Drug Co., Cardinal Health Inc. and McKesson Corp. A federal judge must rule whether the companies created a public nuisance in distributing 81 million prescription pain pills over eight years — and whether they ignored signs that the Ohio River community was being ravaged by addiction.

The plaintiffs are seeking more than $2.5 billion. The money would go toward prevention, treatment and education.

Kelly, 38, said the help can't come fast...