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   From: bksherman@bleeding-rectums.cnn.com   
      
   Complaint Alleges Company Unlawfully Dispensed and Distributed   
   Prescription Opioids   
   In a civil complaint filed today, the Department of Justice has   
   alleged that Walmart Inc. unlawfully dispensed controlled   
   substances from pharmacies it operated across the country and   
   unlawfully distributed controlled substances to those pharmacies   
   throughout the height of the prescription opioid crisis.   
      
   The complaint alleges that this unlawful conduct resulted in   
   hundreds of thousands of violations of the Controlled Substances   
   Act (CSA).  The Justice Department seeks civil penalties, which   
   could total in the billions of dollars, and injunctive relief.   
      
   “It has been a priority of this administration to hold   
   accountable those responsible for the prescription opioid   
   crisis.  As one of the largest pharmacy chains and wholesale   
   drug distributors in the country, Walmart had the responsibility   
   and the means to help prevent the diversion of prescription   
   opioids,” said Jeffrey Bossert Clark, Acting Assistant Attorney   
   General of the Civil Division.  “Instead, for years, it did the   
   opposite — filling thousands of invalid prescriptions at its   
   pharmacies and failing to report suspicious orders of opioids   
   and other drugs placed by those pharmacies.  This unlawful   
   conduct contributed to the epidemic of opioid abuse throughout   
   the United States.  Today’s filing represents an important step   
   in the effort to hold Walmart accountable for such conduct.”   
      
   “We entrust distributors and dispensers with the responsibility   
   to ensure controlled substances do not fall into the wrong   
   hands,” said Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Acting   
   Administrator Timothy Shea.  “When processes to safeguard   
   against drug diversion are violated or ignored, or when   
   pharmacies routinely fill illegitimate prescriptions, we will   
   hold accountable anyone responsible, including Walmart.  Too   
   many lives have been lost because of oversight failures and   
   those entrusted with responsibility turning a blind eye.”   
      
   The result of a multi-year investigation by the department’s   
   Prescription Interdiction & Litigation (PIL) Task Force, the   
   complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of   
   Delaware alleges that Walmart violated the CSA in multiple ways   
   as the operator of its pharmacies and wholesale drug   
   distribution centers.  The complaint alleges that, as the   
   operator of its pharmacies, Walmart knowingly filled thousands   
   of controlled substance prescriptions that were not issued for   
   legitimate medical purposes or in the usual course of medical   
   practice, and that it filled prescriptions outside the ordinary   
   course of pharmacy practice.  The complaint also alleges that,   
   as the operator of its distribution centers, which ceased   
   distributing controlled substances in 2018, Walmart received   
   hundreds of thousands of suspicious orders that it failed to   
   report as required to by the DEA.  Together, the complaint   
   alleges, these actions helped to fuel the prescription opioid   
   crisis.   
      
   If Walmart is found liable for violating the CSA, it could face   
   civil penalties of up to $67,627 for each unlawful prescription   
   filled and $15,691 for each suspicious order not reported.  The   
   court also may award injunctive relief to prevent Walmart from   
   committing further CSA violations.   
      
   “For years, Walmart failed to meet its obligations in   
   distributing and dispensing dangerous opioids and other drugs,”   
   said Deputy Assistant Attorney General Daniel J. Feith of the   
   Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch.  “We look forward   
   to advancing this case with our DOJ partners.”   
      
   “The opioid crisis has exacted a catastrophic human toll upon   
   the residents of our district and upon our country,” said U.S.   
   Attorney for the Middle District of Florida Maria Chapa Lopez.   
   “National pharmacy chains must meet their legal obligations when   
   dispensing and distributing these powerful medications. The   
   filing of this complaint in collaboration with the Department of   
   Justice and other United States Attorneys’ Offices demonstrates   
      
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