Major drugstores file lawsuit against doctors, saying they bear responsibility for the opioid epidemic

On Monday, six major drugstore chains—including CVS, Rite Aid, and Walgreens—filed a lawsuit in the ongoing opioid litigation arguing that physicians and other health care practitioners who write opioid prescriptions should be held liable for contributing to the opioid epidemic, not the pharmacists.

Background

The drugstore chains—which also include Discount Drug Mart, Giant Eagle's pharmacy group HBC, and Walmart—are all defendants in a federal lawsuit brought in 2018 by Ohio's Cuyahoga and Summit counties that is set to begin in October, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports. In the lawsuit, the Ohio counties allege that the drugstore chains helped to fuel the opioid epidemic by filling high volumes of opioid prescriptions.