FLORIDA — In what she is calling a historic win for the state of Florida in the battle against drug addiction, Attorney General Ashley Moody announced a settlement with Walgreens for $680 million.
What You Need To Know
- Florida had sued Walgreens, claiming it bears some responsibility for the costly addiction issues facing thousands of people in the state
- AG Moody made announcement Thursday morning regarding settlement
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For the last four weeks the state had been embroiled in a court battle with Walgreens in a Pasco County courthouse.
The state sued the drugstore chain, claiming Walgreens bears some responsibility for the costly addiction issues facing thousands of people in the state and costing Florida millions of dollars in taxpayer resources.
"This has been a long, hard fought battle to get where we are today, and to be able to announce such monumental news,” Moody said at a Thursday news conference.
“And while we are making this announcement locally, the result of this settlement funds will have far reaching effects across the state and beyond the Tampa Bay region."
Florida has already settled out of court with other pharmaceutical suppliers, including an $870 million opioid abatement settlement with CVS.
The settlement with Walgreens brings the total to more than $3 billion for the state. The company was the 12th and final defendant to settle with Florida.
Walgreens said in a statement the company did not admit wrongdoing in the deal, during which $620 million will be paid to the state over 18 years and a one-time sum of $63 million for attorney fees. Walgreens operates more than 9,000 stores in all 50 states, according to the company website. About 820 of those locations are in Florida.
The Florida case hinged on accusations that as Walgreens dispensed more than 4.3 billion total opioid pills in Florida from May 2006 to June 2021, more than half contained one or more easily recognized red flags for abuse, fraud and addiction that the company should have noticed and acted upon.
The opioid epidemic has been linked to more than 500,000 deaths in the U.S. over the past two decades, counting those from prescription painkillers such as OxyContin and generic oxycodone as well as illicit drugs such as heroin and illegally produced fentanyl.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.