Baltimore Mayor Scott pushes back on calls for public drug market plan, unveils overdose initiatives

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said Thursday that dismantling the city’s open-air drug markets will require coordinated law enforcement work behind the scenes, while overdose prevention will hinge on expanded public health initiatives and community partnerships.

In an interview with WBAL NewsRadio’s C4 and Bryan Nehman, Scott pushed back against calls for a public plan to shut down open-air drug markets, saying such disclosures would undermine enforcement.

“Anybody that’s asking anybody to publicly say out loud how they’re going to tear down drug organizations is not understanding how you can tear down drug organizations,” Scott said.

“No law enforcement official worth their snuff is going to say out loud in public, ‘This is how we’re going to shut them down. Because people who deal drug