The largest-ever federal action related to the U.S. opioid crisis is on the cusp of its first trial next week — and it's complicated. So here's a brief(ish) explainer breaking it all down.

Councilor Althea Garrison was sharply critical of her colleagues.

Now that Purdue is in federal bankruptcy court, four people whose lives were touched by addiction have important seats at the table — they are part of a bankruptcy committee that will play a major role in deciding how much Purdue will pay and potentially how that money is to be spent.

The Walsh administration wants more services and more enforcement, a balance that's proved elusive so far.

A federal judge ruled Wednesday that supervised consumption sites would not violate a section of the Controlled Substances Act as government prosecutors alleged.

Dr. Joel Smithers was convicted in May of more than 800 federal counts of illegal drug distribution. He was facing life in prison and a $200 million fine. The court ordered him to pay $86,000.

The agreement removes the drug maker from the list of defendants in an upcoming federal opioid trial and follows an August settlement in Oklahoma in which it agreed to pay $572 million.

As the opioid crisis continues to ravage lives and communities, there’s growing debate about what matters more: making the addiction-treatment medication more readily available or training doctors to better understand the disease.

Lawmakers are weighing a bill that would put an end to the practice of sending men who are civilly committed for substance use treatment to jail or prison. But in Western Mass., treatment beds are not available.

Santiago is an emergency room physician, South End resident, and state representative.