Court Filing Asserts Big Pharmacy Chains Played Key Role in Opioid Crisis

A new court filing in a trial scheduled for next year asserts big pharmacy chains played a major role in the opioid crisis, The New York Times reports.

The complaint, filed in federal court in Cleveland, contends that chains including CVS, Rite Aid and Walgreens sold millions of painkillers in small communities, but did not alert authorities about suspicious orders.

According to the filing, the pharmacy chains offered bonuses for pharmacists who dispensed large amounts of opioids and worked directly with drug manufacturers to promote the drugs as safe and effective.

One example given in the filing was the town of Painesville, Ohio, with 19,524 residents. The local Rite Aid sold over 4.2 million doses of oxycodone and hydrocodone between 2006 and 2014. The national chain offered bonuses to stores with the highest productivity.