Justice Department lawsuit accuses Walgreens of filling millions of unlawful opioid prescriptions

The U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit on Friday accusing Walgreens of filling millions of unlawful opioid prescriptions.

The civil suit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois Walgreen Boots Alliance, Walgreen Co. and its various subsidiaries alleges the pharmacy giant knowingly filled millions of unlawful prescriptions for controlled substances from approximately August 2012 through to the present. Walgreens allegedly filled prescriptions for dangerous and excessive quantities of opioids, the lawsuit said, including early refills among other prescriptions. 

“Our complaint alleges that Walgreens pharmacists filled millions of controlled substance prescriptions with clear red flags that indicated the prescriptions were highly likely to be unlawful, and that Walgreens systematically pressured its pharmacists to fill prescriptions, including controlled substance prescriptions, without taking the time needed to confirm their validity,” Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division said in a statement. “These practices allowed millions of opioid pills and other controlled substances to flow illegally out of Walgreens stores.”

 Walgreens pharmacists filled these unlawful prescriptions despite clear “red flags,” the complaint alleges, and the pharmacy giant ignored substantial evidence from multiple sources that its stores were dispensing unlawful prescriptions, including from its own pharmacists and internal data, the suit claims.

Pharmacists were pressured to fill prescriptions quickly without taking the time needed to confirm each prescription’s validity, the complaint said. Walgreens also deprived pharmacists of crucial information and prevented them from warning one another about certain prescribers.

Four different whistleblowers who previously worked for Walgreens in various parts of the country filed whistleblower actions, the statement said. 

Walgreens responded to the lawsuit in a statement on its website which read that it stands “behind our pharmacists, dedicated healthcare professionals who live in the communities they serve, filling legitimate prescriptions for FDA-approved medications written by DEA-licensed prescribers in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations.”

“We look forward to the opportunity to defend the professionalism and integrity of our pharmacists,” the statement said.

Last month the Justice Department filed a similar lawsuit against CVS, alleging the pharmacy chain filled prescriptions with dangerous and excessive quantities of opioids, agreed to fill opioid prescriptions early and made “trinity prescriptions,” which are a dangerous combination of drugs.

Walgreens is one of the country’s largest pharmacy chains, with over 8,000 pharmacies across the U.S. Walgreens plans to close hundreds of stores by the end of 2025 to turn around its flagging sales, and has already closed roughly 2,000 locations over the past decade, the company said.