Status: 08/18/2022 08:51 a.m
Hundreds of thousands have died in the United States from opioid overdoses. Now three pharmacy chains have been fined $650 million. Two districts severely affected by the opioid crisis had complained.
In the USA, the pharmacy chains Walmart, CVS and Walgreens have been fined a total of 650 million dollars. A federal judge in Cleveland ordered the companies to pay the money to two Ohio counties hard hit by the opioid crisis. The money will allow Lake and Trumbull counties to “fund education and prevention programs and reimburse local government agencies and organizations for costs incurred in dealing with the crisis,” Lanier said.
Lake and Trumbull originally sought billions of dollars in compensation from the corporations for costs related to the fight against opioid addiction and overdoses. As early as November 2021, the corporations were found guilty of having contributed to the devastating opioid crisis by overly lax allocation of addictive drugs.
Dealers have not yet been held responsible
The federal court jury had concluded that Walmart, CVS and Walgreens did not adequately control sales in Ohio. The pharmacies had ruthlessly distributed large quantities of painkillers. Between 2012 and 2016, around 80 million prescription painkillers were dispensed in Trumbull County alone – that’s 400 per resident. Approximately 61 million tablets were distributed in Lake County during this period.
Lake County will receive $306 million over 15 years and Trumbull County will receive $344 million over the same period, according to Federal Judge Dan Polster’s decision. It is the first time that retailers and not manufacturers have been held responsible.
Aggressive advertising of painkillers
Retail giant Walmart has announced an appeal against the fine. Instead of addressing the “true causes of the opioid crisis,” plaintiffs’ attorneys falsely claimed that pharmacists should question doctors’ decisions, according to Walmart. However, this is not provided for by the applicable law and also represents an inadmissible interference in the relationship between doctor and patient.
Over the past 20 years, more than half a million people have died from opioid overdoses in the United States. This includes both prescribed painkillers and illegal drugs like heroin. Many experts attribute the opioid crisis to the overprescribing of opioid painkillers, which until the mid-1990s were reserved for the treatment of the critically ill.
Manufacturers, wholesalers and pharmacies are accused of aggressively advertising the drug and not responding to warning signs of the addiction crisis. The opioid crisis has led to a nationwide wave of lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies. In many cases, settlements have been reached.