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The Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against Walgreens, accusing the pharmacy chain of knowingly filling millions of unlawful opioid prescriptions over the past decade.
Some shit you should know before you read: Walgreens is one of the largest pharmacy chains in the United States, operating over 8,000 locations nationwide and holding a significant share of the retail pharmacy market. The company has faced previous scrutiny from the DOJ related to its pharmacy practices. In 2013, Walgreens paid $80 million to settle allegations that it violated the Controlled Substances Act by failing to adequately monitor and report suspicious orders of prescription opioids, particularly in Florida. Additionally, Walgreens has been implicated in other legal cases involving the opioid crisis, including a $683 million settlement with the state of Florida in 2022 over its role in the improper dispensing of opioids.
What’s going on now: According to the DOJ, Walgreens knowingly filled millions of unlawful opioid prescriptions from August 2012 to the day the lawsuit was filed, violating federal laws such as the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) and the False Claims Act (FCA). The lawsuit alleges that Walgreens dispensed prescriptions for opioids and other controlled substances that lacked legitimate medical purposes, including those for excessive quantities, early refills, and the dangerous combination known as the “trinity” (an opioid, benzodiazepine, and muscle relaxant). Despite clear “red flags” signaling that many of these prescriptions were likely unlawful, Walgreens allegedly pressured its pharmacists to quickly fill prescriptions without verifying their legitimacy. Prosecutors allege that Pharmacists were denied crucial information, such as the ability to warn one another about suspicious prescribers, and the company systematically ignored internal data and complaints from its own staff regarding improper dispensing practices.
Due to this, the DOJ claims that Walgreens’ actions fueled the ongoing opioid crisis by allowing millions of pills to be dispensed illegally, putting communities at risk. In some instances, patients overdosed shortly after obtaining opioids from Walgreens stores. The lawsuit also alleges that Walgreens sought reimbursement for these unlawful prescriptions from federal healthcare programs, violating the FCA.
Walgreens responds: In a statement, Walgreens vehemently denied the allegations, claiming that it stands “behind our pharmacists, dedicated healthcare professionals who live in the communities they serve, filling legitimate prescriptions for FDA-approved medications written by DEA-licensed prescribers in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations.” The company also criticized the DOJ’s approach, stating, “We are asking the court to clarify the responsibilities of pharmacies and pharmacists and to protect against the government’s attempt to enforce arbitrary ‘rules’ that do not appear in any law or regulation and never went through any official rulemaking process.” Walgreens added, “We will not stand by and allow the government to put our pharmacists in a no-win situation, trying to comply with ‘rules’ that simply do not exist,” and expressed confidence in the “professionalism and integrity of our pharmacists.”
