$83M Walgreens settlement ends claims retailer contributed to state opioid epidemic

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Walgreens opioid epidemic settlement overview:

• Who: West Virginia announced an $83 million opioid epidemic settlement with Walgreens.
• Why: The settlement ends claims the pharmacy helped exacerbate the opioid crisis.
• Where: The Walgreens opioid epidemic settlement is in a West Virginia circuit court.

West Virginia’s attorney general announced an $83 million deal with Walgreens to resolve claims it exacerbated the opioid epidemic in the state. 

On Jan. 18, Attorney General Patrick Morrisey said in a statement that Walgreens had agreed to the settlement to resolve allegations that the pharmacy chain failed to maintain oversight of the illicit distribution of opioids. 

West Virginia claimed Walgreens and other pharmacy chains contributed to an oversupply of prescription opioids in the state, causing financial losses to the state through having to treat the cost of addiction and rehabilitation.

West Virginia expects to secure nearly $1B in opioid epidemic settlements

West Virginia previously made deals with CVS and Walmart for $82.5 million and $65.1 million, respectively, as well as another deal with Rite Aid for up to $30 million. 

There is only one more defendant pharmacy, The Kroger Co., that has yet to make a settlement. Kroger’s trial is set for June. 

In September, Morrisey speculated that the state will ultimately receive $1 billion dollars from settlements made to resolve claims against companies accused of exacerbating the West Virginia opioid epidemic. 

Morrisey reportedly cited ongoing litigation against pharmacies run by The Kroger Co. in addition to potential recoveries from drug companies that went bankrupt.

He previously said he believes that the amount of the West Virginia opioid settlement should be determined by the amount of overdose deaths, with West Virginia reportedly averaging 70 opioid deaths per 100,000 residents in 2020. 

Morrisey credited the state’s success in recuperating funds from companies to rejecting participation in global deals with opioid companies.

“When I rejected the national settlements, I said that we would put West Virginia first and we’d make sure that West Virginia citizens were taken care of,” Morrisey says.

What do you think of the Walgreens settlement in this case? Let us know in the comments! 

The state is represented by the Office of West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey.

The West Virginia opioid lawsuit is In re: Opioid Litigation, Case No. 21-C-9000 Pharm, in the Circuit Court of Kanawha County, West Virginia.

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