Trial date set for lawsuit against Publix claiming pharmacies contributed to nation's opioid crisis
LAKELAND, Fla. - A trial date has been set for a federal civil suit that claims Publix fueled the country's opioid epidemic.
The complaint was originally filed in 2018 and then was amended in 2021.
Big picture view:
The National Prescription Opiate Litigation in Cobb County, Georgia accuses a number of chain pharmacies, including Publix, of failing to protect the public from prescription opioids in their gatekeeper role and instead expanding the market and reaping the enormous financial rewards.
The suit claims "...The chain pharmacies failed to design and operate systems to identify suspicious orders of prescription opioids, maintain effective controls against diversion, and halt suspicious orders when they were identified, and instead actively contributed to the oversupply of such drugs and fueled an illegal secondary market. They also played an active role in helping the manufacturers promote their false marketing about opioids to health care providers, their own pharmacists, and the public."
Dig deeper:
The opioid epidemic had a devastating effect on Cobb County, which led the state in overdose deaths in 2017. The oversupply of opioids allowed non-patients to become exposed to opioids, and facilitated access to opioids for both patients who could no longer access or afford prescription opioids and individuals struggling with addiction and relapse, the lawsuit claims.
But the suit claims the opioids sold had a negative impact on other states too, including Florida, Ohio and Kentucky.
What they're saying:
Jayne Conroy, one of the plaintiffs' attorneys, told FOX 13 that Publix has failed to implement the same guardrails that other leading pharmacy chains have put in place.
She said, "Pharmacies like Publix must be held accountable for their continued ignorance toward opioid dispensing safety controls, and for prioritizing profit over the wellbeing of people."
MORE: Drug overdoses surge in some states: 5 takeaways on numbers that 'are people's lives,' expert says
The other side:
A spokesperson for Publix told FOX 13 they couldn't comment on pending litigation.
What's next:
The jury trial is set for early November.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from the lawsuit against Publix as well as attorney's for the plaintiffs in this case.
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