Amidst a growing epidemic of opioid use in the United States, the state of Florida has filed a lawsuit directed at pharmacy store chains CVS (NYSE: CVS) and Walgreens (NASDAQ: WBA). Led by Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, the lawsuit alleges that the pharmacy chains influenced the opioid crisis by over-prescribing pain medicine for minor health complications. According to the complaint filed in court, Walgreens and CVS "joined the race to sell as many opioids as possible, including by failing to institute safeguards and by marketing opioids to their vast networks of retail pharmacy stores and in-store pharmacists" and further stated that the pharmacy giants "should have known that the quantity of opioids being distributed in Florida far exceeds the medical need of Florida residents."
The overuse of opioids has been examined in the sunshine state, where 90 out of 100 of the top opioid prescribers in the U.S. were located as of a few years ago. Walgreens has allegedly distributed a billion opioid dosages from its Florida locations since 2006. In one small Florida town with a population of approximately 3,000, Walgreens' documented distribution of opioids alone totaled up to 250,000. For CVS, the allegations covered general complaints regarding opioid distribution. One report states that CVS sold approximately 700 million opioid dosages within a 8-year period.
In response to the claims, CVS released a statement concerning its inclusion in Florida's lawsuit, referring to their allegations as those "without merit."
Although laws have begun to crack down on the illegal oversubscription, opioids still infiltrate neighborhoods via "pain mills." Through this system, patients approach pharmacy stores with minor or exaggerated illnesses and buy opioids. Given that pharmacy providers were not required to withhold pills suspected to be for invalid use at the time, the drugs would further be re-sold across the country.
In addition to the pharmacies CVS and Walgreens, the state of Florida will also be suing pharmaceutical companies Cardinal Health (NYSE: CAH), Amerisourcebergen (NYSE: ABC), and McKesson Corporation (NYSE: MCK). Similarly, drug distributors such as Purdue Pharmaceuticals and Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) pharmaceutical subsidiaries have been accused of creating too many opioids and fentanyl. Fentanyl, although not an opioid, functions as a synthetic opioid that is up to 50 times stronger than heroin.
For the pharmacy stores and pharmaceutical companies, rulings regarding drug distribution have not yet been discussed by state courts. Nevertheless, future decisions upon opioid distribution may set a precedent for limiting pharmacies and manufacturers.