The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit accusing Walmart pharmacies of illegally dispensing controlled substances, thereby allegedly contributing to the opioid crisis.
The civil complaint, filed Tuesday in federal court in Delaware, accuses the company of “hundreds of thousands of violations of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA),” according to a Justice Department news release.
According to the release, if Walmart is found liable, the company could face penalties of up to $67,627 for each prescription illegally filled by Walmart pharmacies and $15,691 per each suspicious order that was not reported.
“Under the CSA, every participant in the supply chain bears responsibility for preventing the misuse of controlled substances,” the lawsuit states.
The Justice Department’s lawsuit says there are more than 5,000 Walmart pharmacies across the U.S., and, until 2018, the company “acted as a wholesale distributor of controlled substances for its own pharmacies.”
Therefore, the company had the responsibility of not only deciding whether to fill Walmart pharmacies’ wholesale orders, but also of whether to fill individual consumers’ prescriptions.
The Department of Justice’s Prescription Interdiction & Litigation (PIL) Task Force conducted a multiyear investigation that led to the lawsuit, according to the news release. Allegedly, Walmart pharmacies “knowingly filled thousands” of prescriptions for controlled substances that were not for legitimate medical use.
The complaint also alleges Walmart received “hundreds of thousands of suspicious orders” and failed to report them to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
“The opioid crisis has exacted a catastrophic human toll upon the residents of our district and upon our country,” Maria Chapa Lopez, U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida, said in the Justice Department’s release. “National pharmacy chains must meet their legal obligations when dispensing and distributing these powerful medications. The filing of this complaint in collaboration with the Department of Justice and other United States Attorneys’ Offices demonstrates our firm commitment to enforcing these critical legal requirements.”
Recently, Purdue Pharma agreed to plead guilty to criminal charges for its role in the opioid crisis.
With its plea, the company admits it marketed opioids to doctors it suspected were writing illegal prescriptions, then lied to the DEA.
The plaintiffs in the Walmart lawsuit are seeking injunctive relief to “address and restrain” Walmart’s alleged violations. They also seek an award of the maximum civil penalties allowed by law and any further relief the Court deems appropriate.
What is your opinion of the Justice Department’s lawsuit? Do you think Walmart pharmacies share some responsibility for the opioid crisis? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below.
The U.S. is represented by Jeffrey Bossert Clark, acting assistant attorney general, Civil Division; Daniel J. Feith, deputy assistant attorney general; and the District of Colorado, District of Delaware, Eastern District of North Carolina, Eastern District of New York and Middle District of Florida U.S. Attorney’s Offices.
The Department of Justice Walmart Opioids Lawsuit is U.S. v. Walmart Inc., et al., Case No. 1:20-cv-01744-UNA, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware.
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57 thoughts onWalmart Pharmacies Face DOJ Lawsuit for Filling Suspect Opioid Scripts
Please add me. I got a bottle of cough medicine from Purdue pharma every 10 days per my doc. I would get script filled at Walmart. I would like to be included in Purdue pharma suit also. I was on med for about 10 years. I cough my brains out but decided I have to get off.
Please add my name
i use walmart as my pharmacy and they dont even id for opioids or perscriptionx
I changed pharmacies to Walmart for my monthly medication which is an opioid. I thought Walmart would be more convenient and better priced.
I couldn’t have been more wrong. My regular pharmacy charges 29.00 for my script. Walmart was 73.00 for the exact medication. The clerk told me if I didn’t like the price to go somewhere else.
I changed pharmacies to Walmart for my monthly medication which is an opioid. I thought Walmart would be more convenient and better priced.
I couldn’t have been more wrong. My regular pharmacy charges 29.00 for my script. Walmart was 73.00 for the exact medication. The clerk told me if I didn’t like the price to go somewhere else.
Add me
please add me
I fill my opiate script at walgreens and the run me through the ringer every month. I have to go to the doctor, to get a script every month, he has to jump through hoops and government regulations and a buttload of steps to write the perscription every month a physcial paper prescription this is just the start before walgreens who is only one of a very few who will fill it. At this point Walgreens has to get the prescriptions approved then even though i get this done every month for many years they still have to recieve the script a week in advance every time because i’m told it has to be ordered and aproved. On many ocasions it has been late even after a week in advance putting me at risk of withdrawl as they will not fill it until the day i run out of the previous month. I have post-polio, degenerative disc disorder, bad kee rebuilt twice, 5 back surgeries 2 front spine surgeries plus fusion of all lumbar disc area with one thorasic and all the ridiculous treatments like spot injections, spine nerve blocks and the like which do not work the opiate medication is the only thing that allows me to function as a human and i am put through the bull crap monthly now only able to walk short distances with crutches and leg braces this gets more and more ridiculous every time the government thinks it is doing something; yes they are, making it impossible for the people who are in need of the opiate because of idiots choosing to abuse it they are the ones that need regulation of prison for life. Much like anything the government puts it filthy hands on they f it up.
I agree 110% with you
I sympathize, I go through something less severe with my local Rite Aid; they’ve figured out that the scripts come every 30 days and get the meds in stock before I run out. Does anyone actually believe that WalMart, possibly the biggest pharmacy in the US, wasn’t in full compliance with local, state, and federal regulations? The pharmacist is not a health care provider and isn’t legally permitted to refuse to fill a valid prescription. The pharmacist can contact the prescribing physician, report suspicions, and even confront the patient, but they have no role in deciding which facially valid prescriptions they will or won’t fill. This is just a government over-reach in order to ‘legally’ extort a private-sector business. Strange that there’s nothing coming from the DEA or FDA about these allegations. You’d think they’d be key players.
Add me please
Please add me