"Cherokee Nation sues drug companies for alleged 'epidemic' of prescription painkiller abuse", 20 Apr 2017

Accusing them of creating “an epidemic of prescription opioid drug abuse” by flooding Oklahoma with unnecessary painkillers, the Cherokee Nation filed a lawsuit...against six of the largest drug distributors in the United States.  The defendants include Wal-Mart, Walgreens and CVS…“Defendants turned a blind eye to the problem of opioid diversion,” the lawsuit says, “and profited from the sale of prescription opioids to the citizens of the Cherokee Nation in quantities that far exceeded the number of prescriptions that could reasonably have been used for legitimate medical purposes.”  Cardinal Health vowed to “vigorously defend ourselves against the plaintiff’s mischaracterization.”…CVS did not comment directly on the lawsuit but said “We also have stringent policies, procedures and tools…to ensure that our pharmacists properly exercise their corresponding responsibility to determine whether a controlled-substance prescription was issued for a legitimate medical purpose before filling it.”…[Also refers to AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health, McKesson]