CVS, Walgreens and Walmart Must Pay $650.5 Million in Ohio Opioids Case
Source: New York Times
A federal judge on Wednesday ordered three of the nation’s largest pharmacy chains — CVS, Walgreens and Walmart — to pay $650.5 million to two Ohio counties, ruling that the companies must be held accountable for their part in fueling the opioid epidemic. The decision is a companion piece to a November jury verdict that found the companies had continued to dispense mass quantities of prescription painkillers over the years while ignoring flagrant signs that the pills were being abused.
The ruling is the first by a federal judge that assigns a firm money figure against the pharmacy chains for their roles in the opioid crisis. Here, the judge, Dan A. Polster of United States District Court in northern Ohio, who has overseen more than 3,000 cases in the opioid litigation, ruled that the pharmacies bore responsibility for one-third of the amount that the counties need to address the continuing damage wrought by the epidemic.
Drug manufacturers and drug distributors, two other groups in the pharmaceutical chain that have been sued, also bear responsibility, he said. Mark Lanier, the Texas lawyer who led the plaintiffs’ trial team, said of the pharmacy chains: “These companies are rending the fabric of society apart. They should not only show remorse, they should show they need to rectify what they’ve done. And they won’t do it. So the judge is doing it.”
Representatives for CVS and Walgreens expressed their disappointment in Judge Polster’s ruling. Fraser Engerman, a spokesman for Walgreens, described the judge’s analysis as flawed, and said the company would appeal. “We never manufactured or marketed opioids nor did we distribute them to the ‘pill mills’ and internet pharmacies that fueled this crisis,” he said. Michael DeAngelis, a CVS spokesman, also said the company would appeal, adding, “Pharmacists fill legal prescriptions written by D.E.A.-licensed doctors who prescribe legal, F.D.A.-approved substances to treat actual patients in need.” Walmart did not respond to a request for comment.
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/17/health/opioids-cvs-walmart-walgreens.html
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and I think the reality is that there are probably a tiny number of franchise stores and employees who work for them, who are engaged in the majority of this type of churn, and it usually leads back to doctors who are participants in schemes that in the end, impact legitimate patients in need of pain management.
Almost 20 years ago, some might recall this -
By Jon Burstein and South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Orlando Sentinel •Oct 03, 2003 at 12:00 am
Allegations that conservative talk-show host Rush Limbaugh illegally purchased addictive prescription drugs have surfaced in a Palm Beach County investigation into trafficking of the painkillers, according to sources close to the inquiry. Limbaugh's former housekeeper at his Palm Beach mansion and her handyman husband have told authorities that they supplied Limbaugh with OxyContin and other addictive prescription drugs from 1998 to 2002, the sources said.
Those sources confirmed media reports that Wilma and David Cline turned over e-mails as well as taped phone messages documenting Limbaugh's suspected drug habit. The sources said the Clines told the Palm Beach County State Attorney's Office that Limbaugh bought the pills for his personal use. There's no arrest pending based on what the Clines told prosecutors, according to the sources.
(snip)
Assistant State Attorney James Martz, who is assigned to a task force investigating prescription-drug trafficking, said he couldn't discuss whether Limbaugh's name has come to authorities' attention. The investigation into the distribution of prescription painkillers already has led to the March arrest of suspended pharmacist Louis Beshara. Beshara, 60, faces charges he sold 2,000 pills of the narcotic painkiller hydrocodone to a confidential informant and was caught with another 4,000 hydrocodone pills.
Sources said there are ties that appear to connect the Clines with the Beshara investigation. Local defense attorneys said that even if everything the Clines said is true, it doesn't mean prosecutors have a case against Limbaugh because he was not caught with any illegal drugs in his possession.
https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-2003-10-03-0310030313-story.html
In Limbaugh's case, he supposedly had RA that manifested in joint degradation of the bones in his ears, leading to his having cochlear implants as he was essentially deaf in one ear and almost there in the other. But I think the above story shows the different parties involved in what amounts to trafficking, with pharmaceutical companies excessively promoting the products to physicians and a tiny fraction of those doctors (not all) becoming engaged in kick-back arrangements with the pharma companies and a tiny fraction of some (not all) pharmacists part of that.
A parallel issue occurred with pseudoephedrine (and other ephedrines) that were once in OTC products like cold medicines and inhalers which were used to manufacture meth. Eventually what was an incredibly effective ingredient in these products, was restricted, and products containing them were moved to "behind the counter", with strict tracking and control, and a variant active ingredient was substituted for use in the OTC version.
