Ky. AG Sues Walgreens For Contributing To Opioid Epidemic

Andy Beshear's lawsuit against the pharmacy chain was filed in Boone Circuit Court.

Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear

(Frankfort, Ky.) - Kentucky's attorney general wants Walgreens to pay for part of the cost of the state's opioid epidemic.

Andy Beshear on Thursday filed a lawsuit against the pharmacy giant in Boone County court. He says Walgreens failed to legally monitor its own operations that shipped and dispensed large quantities of opioids to its stores in Kentucky.

The complaint says Walgreens directly contributed to the state's opioid addiction epidemic by flooding communities with the dangerous prescription drugs.

It further alleges unfair, misleading and deceptive business practices by Walgreens for excessively distributing and dispensing opioids in Kentucky and for failing to legally report to state and federal authorities the suspiciously large orders it received for prescription opioids. 

“As Attorney General, my job is to hold accountable anyone who harms our families,” Beshear said, “While Walgreens’ slogan was ‘at the corner of happy and healthy,’ they have significantly harmed the health of our families in fueling the opioid epidemic.” 

Beshear said he filed his sixth opioid-related lawsuit in Boone County because of the large number of Kentuckians who have died from overdoses in northern Kentucky. 

“While the pain of addiction and loss of a loved one may never heal, I want to make sure these billion dollar companies take responsibility and become a part of the solution,” he said.

Kentucky is the second state to sue Walgreens for its role in the opioid epidemic.