Florida vs. Walgreens: Trial over state’s opioid epidemic begins Monday in Pasco County
NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. - The state of Florida is taking on one of the largest pharmacies in the country as it tries to prove Walgreens helped fuel the Sunshine State’s opioid epidemic.
The two will square off in a Pasco County courtroom Monday morning at 9 a.m.
"The marketing, the distributing, these practices that led to where we are today cannot happen again in the future," said Moody.
Not only does Moody say Walgreens is partially responsible for the opioid epidemic, but she’s also arguing that it drained taxpayer-funded resources and says there is plenty of evidence to back up these claims.
Moody says she plans to explain how Walgreens’ distribution of the drugs in the Sunshine State harmed Floridians, specifically citing an increase in orders.
"I hope that it gives some people some peace to know there is accountability for that irresponsibility of these companies that put greed before lives," said John Templeton, the co-founder of the Footprints Beachside Recovery Center.
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Court documents show an instance where a Walgreens distribution center supplied 2.2 million tablets to a single Walgreens store in Hudson, which is enough to give each of the town’s 12,000 residents a six-month supply.
The state has already gone after companies like CVS and pharmaceutical companies TEVA, Allergan, and Endo.
Mom reminds all of the dangers of opioids after losing daughter in overdose
In 2019 alone, overdoses claimed the lives of more than 70,000 people, and according to the statistics, it only got worse through the pandemic. Kellie Sipos lost her daughter to an overdose and founded a parent-support group since then.
The millions of dollars from these settlements will be split between the state, cities, and counties and spent on efforts like opioid prevention, treatment, and recovery services.
RELATED: Florida reaches opioid settlements topping $870 million
"With these announcements and with the monies that we are going to bring into Florida, these families can start healing. We can start directing them and getting them to the much-needed treatment for addiction," said Moody.
There were 78,000 opioid-related deaths in 2020 and Moody says she’s fighting to put an end to this epidemic.