Judge: Pharmacies owe two Ohio counties $650M in opioids suit

CLEVELAND (AP) — A federal judge in Cleveland has awarded $650 million in damages to two Ohio counties that sued CVS, Walgreens and Walmart over the way the national pharmacy chains distributed opioids to their communities. U.S. District Judge Dan Polster said Wednesday (Aug. 17, 2022) in his ruling that the money will be used to the fight the opioid crisis in Lake and Trumbull counties outside Cleveland. Attorneys for the counties put the total price tag at $3.3 billion for the damage done. A jury in November returned a verdict in favor of the counties after a six-week trial. It was then left to the judge to decide how much the counties should receive.