During opening statements Tuesday in the state of New York’s multidefendant opioid lawsuit, attorneys for the plaintiffs emphasized the role opioid manufacturers and distributors played in creating a public nuisance for the people of Long Island and New York as a whole. “The opioid epidemic didn’t happen by accident,” Shkolnik said. “It happened because of a calculated decision in boardrooms across the country to decide to try to make a blockbuster drug out of a drug that’s been on the market for 100 years. A drug that everyone knew was addictive and caused death. But something happened in these boardrooms where they said ‘You know what, we could make billions of dollars on this and we could make it quick.’” Download