Big Pharmacy Chains Also Fed the Opioid Epidemic, Court Filing Says

May 27, 2020

Jan Hoffman, The New York Times

CVS, which operates thousands of pharmacies, worked with manufacturers to promote opioids as safe and effective, according to a new court filing.Credit...Jeenah Moon for The New York Times

Through years of lawsuits and rising public anger over the opioid epidemic, the big American pharmacy retailers have largely eluded scrutiny. But a new court filing Wednesday morning asserts that pharmacies including CVS, Rite Aid, Walgreens and Giant Eagle as well as those operated by Walmart were as complicit in perpetuating the crisis as the manufacturers and distributors of the addictive drugs.