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Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge filed a lawsuit against Walgreens on Monday, claiming it had fueled the state’s opioid crisis.
According to Rutledge, the pharmacy chain did not report any suspicious prescription orders at its Arkansas locations, exacerbating the “oversupply of such drugs and fueling an illegal secondary market.” “
The attorney general noted that the crisis ‘has become so common in Arkansas’ that a majority of its counties, 66 out of 75, have higher opioid prescription rates than the national average. Rutledge added that anyone with the number of opioids in the state can take more than 80 pills in the course of a year.
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The case alleges that Walgreens ‘contributed’ significantly ‘to the epidemic’ by selling, distributing and distributing much larger prescription opioids than he knows would be necessary for legal medical uses, while not being reported, and took steps to suspicious to stop, orders when identified. ‘
The state is now seeking an order “to force Walgreens to act responsibly and to comply with federal and state laws and damages to supplement the epidemic and” civil fines for every violation of Arkansas’ consumer protection legislation, “according to Rutledge .
Medicine for sale in Walgreens pharmacy. (Photo by: Jeffrey Greenberg / Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
In a statement, Rutledge acknowledged that this lawsuit “can not rectify all the injustices that are right,” although it can provide much-needed assistance to devastated families and communities in Arkansas that have an “excessive” impact. .
However, a Walgreens spokesman said in a statement to FOX Business that Walgreens’ never manufactured or marketed opioids, nor did he ever sell opioids to the pain clinics, internet pharmacies and ‘pill factories’ that fueled the opioid crisis. “
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“Before 2014, we only supplied opioids to our own pharmacies, and the only place we ever sold FDA-approved opioid drugs was at the pharmacy counter, with valid prescriptions written by DEA-licensed physicians for legal medical needs, “added the spokesperson.
| Ticker | Safety | Last | Alter | Alter% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WBA | WALGREENS BOOTS ALLIANCE, INC. | 55.39 | +0.34 | + 0.62% |
| WMT | WALMART, INC. | 134.02 | +0.65 | + 0.49% |
The spokesman said the pharmacists “always assess the patient, the prescriber, the drug, the applicable legislation and the surrounding circumstances before making an appropriate professional decision to complete a prescription for a controlled drug.”
Walgreens plans to ‘defend itself vigorously against this lawsuit’, the spokesman said.
WALMART REJECTS OUR GOVERNMENT’S DEMANDS TO BURN OPIOID CRISIS
However, Walgreens is not the only company under fire.
The Department of Justice sued Walmart in December 2020, accusing it of fueling the country’s opioid crisis by pushing its pharmacies to fill even potentially suspicious prescriptions for the powerful painkillers.
Walmart fought back, saying the Justice Department’s investigation was “tainted by historical ethical violations.” It is said that the “lawsuit devises a legal theory that illegally forces pharmacists to get between patients and their doctors, and it is riddled with factual inaccuracies and cherry-picked documents that are out of context.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.