{"id":170781,"date":"2017-04-21T15:28:43","date_gmt":"2017-04-21T15:28:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/opioid-lawsuit-targets-wal-mart-cvs-walgreens-and-more\/"},"modified":"2017-04-21T15:28:43","modified_gmt":"2017-04-21T15:28:43","slug":"opioid-lawsuit-targets-wal-mart-cvs-walgreens-and-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/opioid-lawsuit-targets-wal-mart-cvs-walgreens-and-more\/","title":{"rendered":"Opioid lawsuit targets Wal-mart, CVS, Walgreens and more"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Cherokee Nation<\/a> sued distributors and retailers of opioid medications<\/a> on Thursday, alleging the companies have contributed to \u201can epidemic of prescription opioid abuse\u201d within the tribe and have not done enough to prevent tribal members from acquiring illegally prescribed opioid painkillers.<\/p>\n

The lawsuit alleges that six distribution and pharmacy companies have created conditions in which \u201cvast amounts of opioids have flowed freely<\/a> from manufacturers to abusers and drug dealers\u201d within the 14 northeastern Oklahoma counties that comprise the Cherokee Nation.<\/p>\n

\"Kentucky<\/span>
\n CBS This Morning<\/span><\/p>\n

Kentucky paramedics rush to as many as 25 drug overdoses a day<\/h3>\n

\n President Trump has given a new commission 90 days to come up with ideas to address the deadliest drug crisis in American history. More than 52,0…\n <\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

The tribe argues the companies regularly turn a \u201cblind eye\u201d to opioid prescriptions that would require further investigation before pills are dispensed. The lawsuit also alleges the companies have pursued profits<\/a> instead of trying to reduce opioid-related addition<\/a> that has taken the lives of hundreds of Cherokee citizens and cost the tribe hundreds of millions of dollars in health care costs.<\/p>\n

\u201cDefendants have created an environment in which drug diversion can flourish,\u201d the lawsuit states.<\/p>\n

The lawsuit, filed in the Cherokee Nation District Court, names as defendants distributors AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health Inc. and McKesson Corp., and pharmacies CVS Health, Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc.<\/p>\n

AmerisourceBergen spokesman Gabriel Weissman released a statement saying the company stops the shipment of orders it believes are suspicious.<\/p>\n

\"Doctors<\/span>
\n CBS Evening News<\/span><\/p>\n

Doctors group issues recommendations on opioid epidemic<\/h3>\n

\n An influential group of doctors demanded a top-to-bottom change in the way the U.S. handles addiction. Over 22 million Americans need treatment f…\n <\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThe issue of opioid abuse is a complex one that spans the full health care spectrum, including manufacturers, wholesalers, insurers, prescribers, pharmacists and regulatory and enforcement agencies,\u201d Weissman said.<\/p>\n

Cardinal Health said in a statement that it will defend itself against the allegations and believes the lawsuit does not advance \u201cthe hard work needed to solve the opioid abuse crisis<\/a> \u2014 an epidemic driven by addiction, demand and the diversion of medications for illegitimate use.\u201d<\/p>\n

CVS Health said it has stringent policies and procedures to determine whether a controlled substance prescription was issued for a legitimate medical purpose before a pharmacist fills it. Walgreens said it does not comment on pending legislation.<\/p>\n

Wal-Mart and McKesson did not immediately respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n

The lawsuit seeks to make the companies accountable for creating an oversupply of the drugs, said special counsel Richard Fields, an attorney for the tribe in Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re hoping that this case and others like it will put a focus on the supply is too great,\u201d Fields said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Cherokee Nation sued distributors and retailers of opioid medications on Thursday, alleging the companies have contributed to \u201can epidemic of prescription opioid abuse\u201d within the tribe and have not done enough to prevent tribal members from acquiring illegally prescribed opioid painkillers. The lawsuit alleges that six distribution and pharmacy companies have created conditions in Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-170781","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/170781","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=170781"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/170781\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=170781"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=170781"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=170781"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}