Pharmacies found responsible for fueling the opioid crisis in Ohio

On Tuesday, a federal jury in Cleveland found that Walgreens, CVS and Walmart have helped fuel the opioid crisis in two Ohio counties. Jurors concluded that the pharmacy chains created a “public nuisance.”

This decision is the first ruling of its kind against the retail pharmacy industry. The verdict could set the tone for other lawsuits in the country seeking to hold pharmacies responsible for selling addictive opioid pills into communities.  

Lake and Trumbull counties blamed the three pharmacies for not stopping the flood of pills that caused hundreds to die of an overdose and cost each of the counties $1 billion.

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

District Judge Dan Polster will decide in the spring how much the companies should pay the counties for damages.

"For decades, pharmacy chains have watched as the pills flowing out of their doors cause harm and failed to take action as required by law. Instead, these companies responded by opening up more locations, flooding communities with pills, and facilitating the flow of opioids into an illegal, secondary market," a joint statement from the plaintiffs said. 

Attorneys for the pharmacies said they have policies to stem the flow of pills when there was a suspicious order or any concerning act. CVS and Walmart responded to the accusations by saying they would appeal the ruling.

"We’re proud of the substantial work we’ve done to support our pharmacists in detecting illegitimate prescribing. But the simple facts are that 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. We look forward to the appeals court review of this case, including the misapplication of public nuisance law," spokesman Mike DeAngelis said in a statement.

“As we have said throughout this process, we never manufactured or marketed opioids nor did we distribute them to the ‘pill mills’ and internet pharmacies that fueled this crisis,” said Walgreens spokesperson Fraser Engerman.

Pharmacies Giant Eagle and Rite-Aid already settled two lawsuits with the two counties last month.

“As plaintiffs’ own experts testified, many factors have contributed to the opioid abuse issue, and solving this problem will require involvement from all stakeholders in our health care system and all members of our community,” said DeAngelis.