Walmart opioids settlement

The Walmart opioids settlement was a settlement involving the complaints and lawsuits of Walmart pharmacy, and other large pharmaceutical companies. The lawsuits were made after an official complaint issued by the United States Department of Justice, after Walmart was accused of illegally selling opioids to their customers, despite prior laws prohibiting such actions.

The complaint

On December 22, 2020, the United States Department of Justice filed an official complaint directed towards the Walmart pharmacy for continuing to sell codeine and other opioids to customers, despite rising rates in opioid misuse and addiction across the United States.[1][2]

Criticism towards Walmart

After the complaint was released to the public, multiple large news sources released articles regarding the issue. Large newspapers, such as NPR, CNBC and CNN reported on the topic. The public awareness combined with the public fear of illicitly selling opioids to drug addicts, all culminated into a Lawsuit against the Walmart Corporation.[3][4][5]

The lawsuit

Under the presiding of former attorney general William Barr, the Walmart corporate and the United States Department of Justice and the Drug Enforcement Administration went to court in attempt to resolve the issue.[1][6] Other pharmacies were also pulled into this legal case for similarly defying the Controlled Substances Act. Many large pharmaceutical companies, such as Walgreens, Sam's Club & CVS Pharmacy were included in this case.[3]

Within the lawsuit, the United States Department of Justice argued that Walmart pressured pharmacists to refill as many prescriptions as fast as possible. They also argued that the all pharmacies in the United States have to comply with federal law before refilling a prescription.[1][7] Walmart counter-argued that every individual pharmacist must make the decision to refill a prescription or not.[8][9]

After deliberations, the jury sided with the United States Department of Justice. All the companies involved were forced to pay a total of 3.1 billion dollars in restitution and damages, and were banned from dispensing opioids to consumers.[10][11]

See also

References
  1. "IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF DELAWARE". www.justice.gov. December 20, 2020.
  2. Walmart Inc. v. Us Dept. of Justice, vol. 21, December 22, 2021, p. 300, retrieved May 27, 2023
  3. Nottingham, Shawn (November 2, 2022). "CVS and Walgreens agree to $10 billion in tentative deals on opioid cases. Walmart will also reportedly settle". CNN. Retrieved April 18, 2023.
  4. Mann, Brian (January 3, 2021). "Former Walmart Pharmacists Say Company Ignored Red Flags As Opioid Sales Boomed". www.nps.org.
  5. "Jury holds CVS, Walgreens and Walmart responsible for role in opioid crisis". CNBC. Retrieved April 18, 2023.
  6. "IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS|WALMART INC. (Plaintiff) V. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, et al. (Defendants) -- CIVIL ACTION: COMPLAINT FOR DECLARATORY RELIEF". corporate.walmart.com. October 22, 2020. Retrieved May 20, 2023.
  7. "Rules of Department of Commerce and Insurance" (PDF). www.sos.mo.gov. October 31, 2022.
  8. Walmart Inc. v. Us Department of Justice, February 4, 2021, retrieved May 27, 2023
  9. Walmart Inc. v. Us Dept. of Justice, vol. 517, February 4, 2021, p. 637, retrieved May 27, 2023
  10. Hoffman, Jan (November 15, 2022). "Walmart Agrees to Pay $3.1 Billion to Settle Opioid Lawsuits". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 24, 2023.
  11. "Walmart offers to pay US$3.1 billion to settle opioid lawsuits". CTVNews. November 15, 2022. Retrieved April 24, 2023.
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