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November 18 (UPI) – The Florida Attorney General sues the two largest pharmacy companies in the United States – CVS and Walgreens – alleging they contribute to the state and opioid crisis.
In a press release on Friday, Pam Bondi said the two companies were being added to a lawsuit already filed May 15 against Purdue Pharma, which manufactures OxyContin, and several other manufacturers.
Bondi, who is currently State Attorney General and has been mentioned for the post of senior US Justice Department official, said CVS and Walgreens were selling too much painkillers and were not diligent enough to put an end to it. illegal sales.
"We will continue to research the companies that have played a role in creating the opioid crisis," said Bondi. "Thousands of Floridians have suffered the actions of the accused."
The two companies failed to stop the suspicious opioid orders they received, according to Bondi.
"Opioid use has had tragic consequences for Florida communities and the state has been forced to spend huge sums as a result of the opioid crisis," according to the 123-page amended complaint . "The crisis has a cause: the defendants have cooperated to sell and ship increasing amounts of opioids in Florida."
In the state, Walgreens operates 820 stores and CVS has 754 stores.
The complaint stated that Walgreens had sold 2.2 million tablets to a single pharmacy located in the small town of Hudson, Hudgens, "a supply of approximately six months for each of its 12,000 residents".
CVS is accused of having sold more than 700 million doses of opioids between 2006 and 2014 in the state of the complaint.
In a statement to The Hill, CVS stated, "We are committed to the highest standards of business ethics and business management, including complying with all federal and state laws governing the issuance of ethical and business standards. orders of controlled substances. CVS is committed to contributing to the derivation reduction. We also have stringent policies, procedures and tools to ensure that our pharmacists properly exercise their professional responsibility to evaluate the prescriptions of controlled substances before filling them.
Last year, CVS announced that it would limit all opioid prescriptions to a seven-day supply, becoming the first major network of retailers to do so.
Walgreens declined to comment, but its website says, "Help us fight prescription drug addiction. Together, we can stop an epidemic. The pharmacist "is your best source of information" on the use of medications.
Common opioids include fentanyl, hydrocodone, vicodin, demerol, methadone, morphine, oxycodone, Oxycontin and Percocet.
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