CVS, Walgreens & Walmart Helped Fuel Opioid Crisis in Ohio Counties

A federal jury recently held CVS, Walgreens, and Walmart pharmacies accountable for their role in an opioid crisis in two Ohio counties, according to a report from the Associated Press.

Between 2012 and 2016, about 80 million prescription painkillers were dispensed in Trumbull County alone. And in Lake County, about 61 million pills were distributed during the same period. 

Both counties blamed the three chain pharmacies for not doing enough to stop the flow of opioid pills that caused hundreds of overdose deaths and cost each of the counties nearly $1 billion.

This trial is the first time that pharmacy companies defended themselves in a drug crisis that killed a half-million Americans over the past two decades. Both Lake and Trumbull counties stated that the pharmacies played a substantial role in creating a public nuisance in the way they dispensed pain medication into their communities.

“The law requires pharmacies to be diligent in dealing drugs. This case should be a wake-up call that failure will not be accepted,” Mark Lanier, an attorney for the counties, said in the report.

“The jury sounded a bell that should be heard through all pharmacies in America.”

Before US District Judge Dan Polster, the trial was part of a broader constellation of about 3,000 federal opioid lawsuits consolidated under the judge’s supervision.

Other cases are moving ahead in state courts. But so far, no pharmacy has reached a nationwide settlement.

Attorneys for CVS Health, Walgreens, and Walmart maintained that they had policies in place to stop the flow of pills when their pharmacists had concerns and would notify authorities about suspicious orders from doctors.

Additionally, the attorneys said that doctors controlled how many pills were prescribed for “legitimate medical needs.”

All three chains said that they will appeal the jury verdict. 

“Plaintiffs’ attorneys sued Walmart in search of deep pockets while ignoring the real causes of the opioid crisis — such as pill mill doctors, illegal drugs, and regulators asleep at the switch — and they wrongly claimed pharmacists must second-guess doctors in a way the law never intended and many federal and state health regulators say interferes with the doctor-patient relationship,” Walmart said in an official statement. 

And a statement from Mike DeAngelis, CVS spokesperson, highlighted that CVS Health “strongly disagrees” with the decision. 

“Opioid prescriptions are written by doctors, not pharmacists; opioid medications are made and marketed by manufacturers, not pharmacists; and our health care system depends on pharmacists to fill legitimate prescriptions that doctors deem necessary for their patients,” DeAngelis stated. 

The rise in physicians prescribing pain medications, such as oxycodone and hydrocodone, came as medical groups recognized that patients have the right to be treated for pain.

“Pharmaceutical manufacturers tricked doctors into writing way too many pills. Pharmacies should be the last line of defense to prevent the pills from getting into the wrong hands,” Kaspar Stoffelmary, an attorney for Walgreens, said at the opening of the trial.