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Companies such as Walmart, Walgreens, CVS, and Rite Aid are being sued over corporate complicity in this epidemic.
The New York Times reported that a lawsuit was filed last Friday and is seeking billions of dollars in restitution from the companies that have inundated the market with prescription opioids. Roughly 2,000 individual cases have been brought from around the country where opioid addiction lead to significant death tolls.
The case is expected to go to trial in October and would be the biggest civil trial in US history. According to the Department of Health and Human Services, more than 130 people die per day as a result of opioid overdoses, more than half of which are attributed to fentanyl. This has led to the US government declaring this a public health emergency.
The big stores listed above are being sued because they were not doing their due diligence in their distribution of the drugs. These companies are mandated by law to report suspicious orders to the Drug Enforcement Administration. Many of these companies have not properly trained their employees to keep an eye on suspicious situations and report them.
The companies have fired back, saying that they did not distribute the large quantity of drugs that are being reported. They are trying to remind the general public that doctors have the primary responsibility to make sure prescriptions are written for legitimate reasons.
Regardless, in October, the opioid epidemic will take center stage in the courts. Hopefully this will be a positive step toward ending this crisis for good.
