This health crisis is the cause of more than 500,000 deaths by overdose in 20 years in the United States, and has given rise to numerous procedures launched by American communities.
Walmart, Walgreens and CVS pharmacies were ordered by a judge in northern Ohio on Wednesday to pay two counties in that state $650.6 million for their role in the opiate crisis . “A federal judge ordered (these three companies) to pay $650.6 millionin total to Lake and Trumbull counties, Ohio, the law firm that defended the two counties, The Lanier Law Firm, said in a statement.
This sum will allowfund education and prevention programs and reimburse agencies and organizations for costs incurred in managing the crisis“, he added. Walmart announced in a statement its intention to appeal, denouncing a lawsuit “riddled with legal and factual errors“.
Read alsoOpioid crisis: the Teva laboratory announces an agreement in principle worth more than 4 billion dollars
The three retail giants in the United States, which had massively distributed painkillers in these two counties, were found guilty in November. Lawyers in two counties in Ohio had managed to convince the jury that the massive presence of opiates was indeed a public nuisance and that pharmacies had participated in it by ignoring warning signs about suspicious prescriptions for years.
SEE ALSO – Drugs: Methamphetamine ‘expanding’ in the EU
First time that distributors found responsible
County officialssimply wanted to be compensated for the burden of a drug epidemic supported by corporate greed, negligence and lack of accountability by these pharmaceutical chains“Commented their lawyer, Mark Lanier, quoted in the press release.
Pharmacy chains believe that pharmacists are simply fulfilling legal prescriptions written by doctors, who prescribe substances approved by health authorities. Some parties had reached agreements with Lake and Trumbull counties to end the lawsuits in exchange for financial payments. This is the case of the pharmacy chains Rite Aid and Giant Eagle.
Read alsoOpiates: four firms pay 25 billion dollars
It was the first time that drug distributors, and not producers, were held responsible for this health crisis, which has caused more than 500,000 overdose deaths in 20 years in the United States, and which has given rise to a myriad of procedures launched by communities.
The conviction of opiate producers based on public nuisance laws has, however, suffered setbacks, in California and Oklahoma. Last summer CVS, Walgreens, Rite Aid and Walmart agreed to pay a total of $26 million to two counties in New York State.