By STEVE BRAWNER / TALK BUSINESS & POLITICS
Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge filed suit Monday against Walgreens under the state's Deceptive Trade Practices Act, saying the drug retailer failed to report and prevent suspicious opioid purchases as it was required to do under the law.
The complaint says the drug retailer failed to institute controls to prevent the diversion of drugs into the black market. Walgreens filled more than 142,090,680 dosage units of oxycodone and hydrocodone in Arkansas from 2006 to 2014. Nine of the company’s pharmacies were among the top 20 recipients of prescription opioids in the state.
“Walgreens helped fuel the opioid crisis by selling, distributing and dispensing far greater quantities of prescription opioids than [were] necessary for legitimate medical use,” Rutledge said in her press conference.
Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge at a press conference on March 26, 2018 making a different opiod-related announcement.
CREDIT MICHAEL HIBBLEN / KUAR NEWS