photo credit: dhs.gov
California Attorney General Rob Bonta, alongside 17 other attorneys general, announced a $5.7 billion settlement agreement with the pharmacy retailer Walgreens for their alleged contribution to the opioid epidemic.
The settlement reached Monday resolves a multistate lawsuit alleging Walgreens fueled and profited from the opioid addiction crisis by dispensing substances without proper oversight.
The abatement funds, which will be split amongst participating states, may bring in over $500 million to California’s ongoing efforts to provide treatment and services to those addicted to opioids.
“This settlement is another win in our ongoing fight to bring help and healing to California communities harmed by the opioid crisis,” said Bonta. “To all those struggling with substance abuse disorders, to all those desperately in need of treatment and recovery options — help is on the way.”
Walgreens also has to satisfy court-ordered requirements to help prevent another substance abuse crisis from occurring again. The company agreed to create a program to train employees on drug diversion prevention, investigate “suspicious” prescriptions before dispensing them and allow for site visits at pharmacy locations.
Walgreens also agreed to provide sales data from its distributor to drug manufacturers, in efforts to help identify and prevent times where prescription medicines are obtained illegally.
Last month, Walmart also reached a multi-billion-dollar settlement agreement with state attorneys general to resolve a lawsuit with similar claims.
California is currently assessing settlement terms with CVS, another retail pharmacy chain that attorneys general alleged to have fueled the opioid crisis.
11 comments
How did they get away with blaming Walgreens? We already know the peoples names who are responsible. Along with every doctor that prescribed. How is Walgreens the scapegoat? I don’t understand this level of the corrupt system. Of course they made money selling drugs, it’s their job. I hardly think they were prescribing drugs. They are taking the fall for someone.
It’s the liberal Democrats. They are the party of blame, zero responsibilit for self, and ‘it’s always somebody or someone else’s fault.
How are doctors responsible??? They are in the position to give the patients what they want or the patients scream about it. And then the doctors get in trouble. Damned if you do or don’t. The people responsible for addictions are the morons taking these drugs. They CHOOSE to take them. Stop blaming everyone else for individual decisions. The people who got themselves addicted are to blame. No one else. And, you cannot help someone who does not want to be helped.
Call me stupid, but why are they responsible? Has something changed? Are opioids now and have they been sold over the counter without a doctors prescription? Isn’t a prescription, if its still required, s doctors order to administer a drug? Do pharmacists have the power to deny a doctors order?
Poor Walgreens. They’ll soon close up shop in many cities around California due to retail theft. It would be nice to see Bonta place those who are responsible for the large retail thefts in jail, but it doesn’t sit very well with his voter base.
I’m pretty sure Walgreens training program says if you can’t read the prescription it probably says Fentanyl
Settlement terms…California’s cut from this recent judicial theft should be considered even, to make up for all the loss from theft at Walgreens” CA stores due to lax law enforcement.
Something is wrong. Walgreens attorneys said Okey dokey. Come on. I just can’t figure the angle yet.
Exactly
So people are bringing phony prescriptions and Walgreens isn’t checking them good enough, so that is worth 5.7 billion bucks. The way I see it is that saves lives because these people are already hooked on opiods from a doctor’s prescription and if they can’t get the good stuff they will buy poison in an alley.
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Bonta should sue the Biden Administration for failing to secure the border and allowing fentanyl, coke, heroine, and meth to be smuggled into the US.
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These illegal drugs are the leading cause of homelessness… not the lack of housing as continuously touted by the colluding liberal media and rhetoric of politicians.
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