Pharmacy Chains Defend Actions as Landmark Opioid Trial Nears Its End

Pharmacy Chains Defend Actions as Landmark Opioid Trial Nears Its End
The combination photo shows a logo of CVS in Manhattan, New York, on Aug. 1, 2016, reusable Walmart bags in a newly opened Walmart Neighborhood Market in Chicago on Sept. 21, 2011, and a Walgreens sign in the Chicago suburb of Niles, Ill., on Feb. 10, 2015. Andrew Kelly/Jim Young/Reuters
Reuters
Updated:

CLEVELAND—Lawyers for pharmacy chains including CVS and Walgreens on Monday argued they were not to blame for the opioid epidemic, as jurors prepared to consider whether to hold them responsible for the devastation the drug crisis caused in two Ohio counties.

Mark Lanier, a lawyer for Lake and Trumbull counties, told a federal jury in Cleveland that a verdict in the case against CVS Health Corp, Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc., and Walmart Inc. would have ramifications across the country.