Trial against pharmacy chains’ opioid sales set to begin

By MARK GILLISPIE
Associated Press

CLEVELAND (AP) — Opening statements are scheduled for Monday afternoon in Cleveland in a federal court trial to determine whether retail pharmacy chains created a public nuisance in how they dispensed addictive painkillers in two Ohio counties. One of the attorneys representing Lake and Trumbull counties outside Cleveland has said the cost of abating the ongoing crisis is $1 billion in both counties. Attorneys for the pharmacy chains CVS, Walgreens, Walmart and Giant Eagle, say the companies didn’t manufacture the drugs and their pharmacies were filling prescriptions written by physicians for patients with a legitimate medical need. Rite-Aid settled with the two counties for an undisclosed amount in August.