By Courtney Hessler, The Herald-Dispatch
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — After 38 days of testimony, the last witness was called in a months-long trial in which Cabell County and Huntington accuse opioid firms of creating and fueling the opioid crisis across Appalachia.
Two impactful statements were made in the final moments of testimony. First, a witness said in order to abate the epidemic, it will take medical assisted treatment, a question presiding U.S. District Court Judge David A. Faber had pondered last week.
The final question posed by Cabell Attorney Paul T. Farrell Jr. asked if the oversupply of opioids was a causal factor for the crisis, to which Stephenie Colston, a defense witness, said it was one of the contributing factors.
“Under the law we don’t have to prove it’s the only cause. We just have to prove it’s a cause” he said. “Such a simple word in the English language. The difference between ‘a’ and ‘the’ may be the entire difference in the entire case.” …