US Department of Justice sues Walmart over opioid sales
December 23, 2020
The civil suit brought forward by the DOJ accuses Walmart of knowingly filling thousands of invalid prescriptions. The retailer says it is in a no-win situation and wants the suit thrown out.
The DOJ says Walmart, the world's largest retailer, helped fuel the opioid crisis by filling thousands of invalid prescriptionsImage: Julio Cortez/AP/picture alliance
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The US Department of Justice (DOJ) on Tuesday filed a civil lawsuit against Walmart, the world's biggest retailer, for knowingly filling thousands of invalid prescriptions for opioids.
Walmart stocks fell 1.5% on the news. The company did not respond to requests for a statement.
Walmart, which has 5,000 pharmacies across the US, filed its own preemptive suit against the Justice Department, Attorney General William Barr and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in October, claiming the government was putting its pharmacists in an impossible position by forcing them to choose between accepting a physician's "medical judgement and fill the opioid prescription, or second guess the doctor's judgement and refuse to fill it." Walmart is asking a federal judge to declare the DOJ suit baseless and has threatened to sue for damages.
But the DOJ suit alleges: "As one off 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. 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 at those pharmacies."
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DOJ suit could force Walmart to pay billions
Ultimately, the DOJ could seek billions of dollars in fines for what it says were Walmart's violations of the Controlled Substances Act. Walmart could face penalties of up to $67,627 (€55,592) for each illegal prescription that it filled, as well as $15,691 for each suspicious prescription it failed to report to authorities. The DOJ says, "For years, Walmart kept in place a system that it knew was failing to adequately detect and report suspicious orders," going on to charge that the retailer had "unlawfully filled thousands upon thousands of invalid controlled-substance prescriptions."
"Walmart managers put enormous pressure on pharmacists to fill prescriptions," demanding they filled high-volumes of what they knew to be invalid prescriptions "as fast as possible," while at the same time curtailing their ability to refuse to fill orders they knew to be invalid.
On the front line of the opioid epidemic in the US
Cheryl, a 71-year-old woman from Phoenix, has adopted her 3-year-old great-grandniece Jessie, who was an addict before she was even born, suffering from drug withdrawal symptoms at birth. Eline van Nes reports.
Image: Reuters/B. Snyder
Going out for the day
While Jessie sits in her car seat, Cheryl takes out the baby stroller to be able to push Jessie around through the shopping mall. Cheryl doesn't take Jessie to the mall often because it's tiring to go on these trips. She prefers staying at home, or they go to the nearby playground. They often visit Jessie's biological sister who lives two doors down.
Image: DW/E. Van Nes
Catching her breath
Raising a 3-year-old as a 71-year-old is a lot to ask for. The number of grandparents taking care of their grandchildren in the US because their parents are addicted to drugs, specifically opioids, is increasing. According to recent studies, around 12 percent of children in Arizona live with relatives, almost 9 percent of those live with their grandparents.
Image: DW/E. Van Nes
Sitting on a bunch of admin
On July 9, the Supporting Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Act was signed into law. It's designed for grandparents who need information and assistance on issues in dealing with legal custody, available social services, and mental health counseling. One problem, however, is that relatives who take care of a child don't get the same amount of financial support that foster care families do.
Image: DW/E. Van Nes
A little joy goes a long way
Jessie was apprehensive about riding the merry-go-round for the first time. When Cheryl was buying the tickets, the vendor asked about Jessie. Cheryl said that Jessie was her own daughter. She thinks Jessie's biological mother is still alive, but doesn't know where she is or if she's in rehab. "The last time she was seen was in the fall of last year. Rumor has it that she was in Mesa."
Image: DW/E. Van Nes
Finding a way to make it work
Cheryl knows that because of her age she probably won't be around when Jessie grows up. She has some physical problems and Jessie does wear her out, but she doesn't see a problem there. She believes it's important Jessie is around family and not in the care of strangers. Her son will take care of Jessie after Cheryl's gone.
Image: DW/E. Van Nes
Sunday school
Every Sunday, Cheryl and Jessie go to a Presbyterian church. Jessie is too young to attend the sermon so she goes to Sunday school. After the sermon, Cheryl and Jessie join other families for snacks in a large auditorium. The church has always been supportive of Cheryl. She has lost three husbands and a son due to a drug overdose. Cheryl believes taking care of Jessie is her last calling.
Image: DW/E. Van Nes
Pushing Mommy around
Cheryl has permanent damage to her back and also suffers from arthritis in her hands and sciatica in both legs. She wears a back brace to help relieve the pain. To be able to cope with the pain, she takes painkillers and other medicines. She can't do without — especially with a young toddler pushing her around.
Image: DW/E. Van Nes
It's my party
It's Jessie's third birthday. Only a few guests have been invited, so that it doesn't get too busy for Jessie. Jessie's mother had two other children: Jessie's older sister, who's in the care of Cheryl's brother and his wife. But they couldn't handle more than that. Jessie's little brother has been adopted by a foster family.
Image: DW/E. Van Nes
Taking it easy
Just before Jessie's mother went into labor, she had another hit of methamphetamine. After Jessie was born she was crying and screaming and twitching — typical withdrawal signs. Since then, Jessie has had to cope with a raft of health problems as a result of the drug abuse during pregnancy. Doctors are still monitoring her to see if there is any permanent damage.
