(KRON) — Walgreens will pay the city of San Francisco a $230 million settlement after city officials filed a lawsuit against a pharmaceutical company. The proposed settlement is the largest settlement awarded to a local jurisdiction by an opioid defendant since the opioid epidemic began.
The announcement was made Wednesday morning on the steps of San Francisco City Hall. Payments from Walgreens will be phased in over the next eight years and are expected to be completed in 2030. The first $57 million will be paid out by June 2024, according to San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu.
Chiu said a federal court found that Walgreens “substantially contributed” to the opioid epidemic and had a significant impact on San Francisco.
“Very dangerous and addictive opioids were marketed to patients as safe. We now know it was a total lie.” — David Chiu
As a result, millions of Americans eventually became dependent on opioids. Walgreens is one of the largest pharmaceutical providers in the San Francisco area.
“They put profits above meeting their legal obligations and pressured pharmacists to refill, refill, refill,” Chiu said.
Judge Charles R. Breyer of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California wrote the judgment against the pharmaceutical giant in August 2022.
“San Francisco’s Walgreens Pharmacy has received more than 1.2 million ‘red flag’ opioid prescriptions,” Breyer wrote. The law requires pharmacists to complete due diligence on suspicious opioid prescription requests, but Qiu said due diligence was performed on less than 5% of prescriptions filled.
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“There was compelling evidence that abuse of prescription opioids often leads to the use of illicit opioids such as heroin and fentanyl,” Breyer wrote. As addiction becomes more severe, users tend to seek stronger and cheaper supplies.
The opioid crisis ultimately led to the rise of fentanyl, a cheap and potentially deadly opioid often mixed with other street drugs. Here in San Francisco, more than 450 people died from fentanyl-related overdoses in 2022 alone.
“We must not forget that some of the world’s most profitable companies orchestrated this public health crisis,” Chiu said.
“No amount of money is enough to restore the lives lost to this plague…We mourn our brothers and sisters, our mothers and fathers. to ensure that those who cause harm are held accountable.”
Chiu said previous lawsuits against various opioid manufacturers, distributors and pharmacies have already paid out $130 million to the city of San Francisco. Walgreens became the final defendant in this lawsuit.
