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More than a decade ago, Purdue Pharma pleaded guilty to marketing the powerful painkiller OxyContin in a way that illegally downplayed its addictiveness and abuse potential. This past October, the company again admitted criminal wrongdoing for misleading doctors, regulators and the public regarding the drug’s dangers...Last Thursday’s congressional opioid hearing was the first time in years that the family behind Purdue, the Sacklers, would have a chance to take responsibility for it all. But instead of accepting blame for that reckless promotion, two of the family members, who appeared voluntarily under penalty of subpoena, did little more than murmur words of regret for the harmful commercial tactics that made their company’s lead product the poster child for the opioid crisis...While both apologized, neither acknowledged personal (or familial) fault or error...READ MORE

Walmart has filed suit against the United States Department of Justice and the Drug Enforcement Administration, asking a US District Court judge to clarify the roles and responsibilities of pharmacists and pharmacies under the Controlled Substances Act...Although Walmart’s pharmacies have blocked “thousands” of questionable physicians from having their opioids scripts filled by its pharmacists, “certain DOJ officials have long seemed more focused on chasing headlines than fixing the crisis,” the retailer said. “They are now threatening a completely unjustified lawsuit against Walmart, claiming in hindsight pharmacists should have refused to fill otherwise valid opioid prescriptions that were written by the very doctors that the federal government still approves to write prescriptions.”...READ MORE

The Department of Justice charged 345 people across 51 federal districts in the largest healthcare fraud takedown in the agency's history...The DOJ said the charges were in connection with cases responsible for more than $6 billion in losses. Among those charged were more than 100 doctors, nurses and other medical professionals, according to the DOJ...The billions in false claims were submitted to both public and private insurers,...with more than $4.5 billion connected to telemedicine schemes...In addition, $845 million in fraud losses were linked to substance abuse treatment facilities known as "sober homes," and $806 million was connected to other types of healthcare fraud and illegal opioid distribution...READ MORE

An Alabama doctor was sentenced to 30 years in prison for his involvement in running a "pill mill" out of a Birmingham medical clinic, the U.S. Department of Justice said...U.S. District Court Judge R. David Proctor sentenced...Patrick Emeka Ifediba...for his involvement with Care Complete Medical Clinic...Ifediba was a doctor of internal medicine who owned and operated CCMC. Prosecutors alleged he and others, including his wife, operated CCMC as a "pill mill" and "illegally, repeatedly prescribed opioids there, often in combination with other controlled substances to form potent and deadly drug cocktails."...READ MORE

The Trump administration sued Walmart Inc. Tuesday, accusing the retail giant of helping to fuel the nation’s opioid crisis by inadequately screening for questionable prescriptions despite repeated warnings from its own pharmacists...The Justice Department’s lawsuit claims that Walmart sought to boost profits, understaffed its pharmacies and pressured employees to fill prescriptions quickly. That made it difficult for pharmacists to reject invalid prescriptions, enabling widespread drug abuse nationwide, the suit alleges...Walmart, the country’s largest retailer by revenue, has been expecting this complaint and sued the federal government in October to fight the allegations pre-emptively...In its suit, Walmart accuses the Justice Department and Drug Enforcement Administration of attempting to scapegoat the company for what it says are the federal government’s own regulatory and enforcement shortcomings...READ MORE

...Purdue Pharma has signed a massive settlement to walk away from federal civil and criminal charges. But as the company wades throught court-supervised bankruptcy, will the government—or individuals hurt by Purdue's bad behavior—see anywhere close to that amount in damages?...Purdue has reached an $8 billion-plus deal with the U.S. Department of Justice to plead guilty and settle federal criminal and civil claims for its role in fueling the nation's opioid epidemic...Purdue has been assessed a $3.54 billion criminal penalty and will forfeit an additional $2 billion, the government said. The company has also agreed to pay $2.8 billion to settle the government's civil claims. In addition, the company's founding Sackler family will forfeit $225 million in civil damages...READ MORE

Justice Department officials...announced a global opioid bust of drug traffickers on the darknet, arresting 179 people and seizing $6.5 million in cash...The operation, dubbed “DisrupTor,” was carried out across the United States and Europe and resulted in the seizure of 274 kilograms (604 pounds) of drugs, including fentanyl, oxycodone, hydrocodone, methamphetamine, heroin, ecstasy, MDMA and other drugs containing addictive substances...READ MORE

In a first in the nation, Oregon has rejected charging drug users with criminal offenses, with voters passing a ballot measure that decriminalizes possession of heroin, methamphetamine, LSD, oxycodone and other hard drugs...“Today’s victory is a landmark declaration that the time has come to stop criminalizing people for drug use,” said Kassandra Frederique, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance, which was behind the measure. “Measure 110 is arguably the biggest blow to the war on drugs to date.”...The measure completely changes how Oregon’s justice system treats those who are found with personal-use amounts of the hard drugs...READ MORE

Johnson & Johnson appears to be nearing a final deal that could settle more than 2,000 lawsuits brought by states and cities that claim the company contributed to the opioid crisis by overselling the benefits of its painkillers...The U.S. drugmaker will pour an additional $1 billion into a potential settlement that would resolve those opioid lawsuits, on top of the $4 billion the company set aside a year ago.,,READ MORE

With opioid-related overdoses on the rise, health care providers try preparing everyday Nevadans to respond to a crisis..From January to May 2020, Nevada saw 23 percent more opioid-related overdose deaths than during the same period in 2019, and similar trends are being seen across the country...Opioid-related overdose deaths peaked in Nevada in 2011 and have been on the decline since then, but around the U.S., rates have been rising throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. The American Medical Association released a report in mid-August citing news reports from 40 states and Washington, D.C. showing a rise in overdoses and illicit substance abuse since March...According to data from the Nevada Overdose Data to Action Program, there have been 197 opioid-involved drug overdose deaths in 2020 as of May 31, a 23 percent increase over the 160 counted in the first five months of 2019. April and May had the highest rates of overdose-related emergency room visits, with a 25 percent increase over the three months prior...READ MORE