News Alert: At the height of the opioid crisis, Walgreens handled nearly one in five of the most addictive pain pills shipped to pharmacies

The pharmacy chain was the nation's largest retail purchaser of opioids from 2006 through 2012, buying about 13 billion pills, analysis shows. While most pharmacies relied heavily on wholesalers to supply their prescription opioids, Walgreens obtained 97 percent of its pain pills directly from drug manufacturers. This allowed the company to have more control over how many pain pills it sent to its stores. A lawsuit alleges the company failed to report suspicious orders and prevent diversion to the black market.

Democracy Dies in Darkness     News Alert Nov 7, 7:01 AM     At the height of the opioid crisis, Walgreens handled nearly one in five of the most addictive pain pills shipped to pharmacies The pharmacy chain was the nation's largest retail purchaser of opioids from 2006 through 2012, buying about 13 billion pills, analysis shows. While most pharmacies relied heavily on wholesalers to supply their prescription opioids, Walgreens obtained 97 percent of its pain pills directly from drug manufacturers. This allowed the company to have more control over how many pain pills it sent to its stores. A lawsuit alleges the company failed to report suspicious orders and prevent diversion to the black market. Read more » Advertisement You received this email because you signed up for news alerts from The Washington Post. Manage my newsletters and alerts | Unsubscribe Privacy Policy | Help ©2019 The Washington Post, 1301 K St NW, Washington DC 20071