Opening statements began Tuesday in a landmark opioid trial against pharmaceutical companies who are being sued in Nassau and Suffolk counties, as well as the state of New York, to hold the drugmakers responsible for the ongoing opioid epidemic. On Long Island, the trial is the first of its kind to be heard by a jury. Hunter Shkolnik, the attorney for Nassau County, called opioid prescriptions, “heroin in a pill,” and blamed distributors for not stopping suspicious orders. Download