Major pharmacy retailers ordered to pay $650 million for their role in fueling the opioid epidemic


The following is an excerpt from Independent via Yahoo! News.

America’s top three pharmacy chains have been ordered to cough up $650.5m to Ohio counties Lake and Trumbull for fueling the opioid epidemic after oversupplying the drug.

CVS, Walmart and Walgreens will have to pay a third of the amount needed by the two Ohio counties to combat the damage caused by the drug epidemic, according to a ruling on Wednesday by federal judge Dan Polster in Cleveland.

The judge added that two other groups in the pharmaceutical chain – drug manufacturers and drug distributors – should also be held responsible.

In November, the federal court had ruled that the three pharmacy giants helped dispense addictive opioid pills that led to an oversupply of the drugs and public nuisance over the years even as it was reported that the pills were being used for drug abuse.

Many of the drugs in circulation found their way to the black market and were also sold illegally.

The judge said the fine imposed on the companies will have to be paid over the next 15 years and fixed an $86.7m amount to be paid to a fund immediately in the first two years.

Continue reading article here.


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8 thoughts on “Major pharmacy retailers ordered to pay $650 million for their role in fueling the opioid epidemic”

  1. That is a drop in the bucket compared to what those BIG PHARMA DEMONS have caused in pain….suffering…deaths…!! How much should they have to pay for ALL the people their “Product” has killed..!!?

  2. Government ( Veterans hospitals & doctors), handed out opioid scripts to EVERYONE! Unscrupulous ppl sold their opioids, fueling the addiction of teens, young ppl. That’s EXACTLY how it went down for my son! In his 30s after years of government scripted opioids sold to him by veterans; he graduated to herion.

  3. The suppression of cures for too many diseases to list here has been the ongoing agenda of a profit-based medical establishment tethered to the Pharma corpse. The real tragedy is that so many people have been victimized as a result of their own ignorance. Dr Robert Mendelsohn outlined the problems associated with a medical establishment that was corrupted from the start. His book entitled: “Confessions of a Medical Heretic” is a worthwhile read–even if it was published in 1979, pre CV-scamdemic.

  4. But the article doesn’t say who will benefit from this money in the “fund”. Agree with Cowgirl Diva above — this amount is a drop in the bucket and paid over 15 years … wow!

    But to be fair, pharmacies filled the prescriptions, they didn’t write them. No good guys in this whole episode . Meanwhile 500,000 people are gone forever and no amount of money can fix that.

  5. The pharmacies didn’t create, market, or provide any incentives for over distribution. Look at the doctors who prescribed and the manufacturers. If you spend the money on enforcing border security you will help stem the flood of fentanyl.

    1. Agreed and this also fuels the misinterpretation of their job. Pharmacists shouldn’t get a say in what is dispensed or not even if it’s abortion pills or ivermectin unless there is a safety issue due to the combination of drugs.

  6. They must’ve not been using Medical Insurance to pay for these prescriptions otherwise the Health Insurance Companies would have disallowed so many ‘repeat’ fillings.

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