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Walmart sued for wave of abuse
The US Department of Justice is suing Walmart for having contributed to the so-called opioid crisis in the country, writes The Wall Street Journal.
The pain reliever Oxycontin. Stock Photography.
The retail giant’s pharmacies, among other things, by lowering drug prices and having staff handle prescriptions as quickly as possible, exposed people to health risks, according to the lawsuit.
Opioids relieve pain but are also very addictive.
According to the lawsuit, Walmart’s rapid handling of prescriptions has not only made it difficult for pharmacists to detect doctors who overprescribed opioids to their patients, but also detected false prescriptions, WSJ writes.
As a precautionary measure, Walmart sued the Department of Justice and the US Drug Enforcement Administration in October. According to the company, authorities are trying to name Walmart as the scapegoat for the widespread opioid abuse in the country rather than taking their own responsibility.
But according to the Justice Department, Walmart has created a system that made the company’s 5,000 pharmacies leaders in the sale of addictive pain relievers.
In 2017, 47,600 people died from opioid overdoses in the United States. Between 1999 and 2017, opioids claimed 400,000 lives.
It is estimated that more than 11 million Americans abuse prescription opioids.
