West Virginia has reached a multi-million-dollar settlement with Rite Aid, amid allegations of the pharmacy chain contributing to the state's overflow supply of opioids, according to West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey.
The crux of the 2020 lawsuit involved Rite Aid's apparent negligence with monitoring and reporting drug prescriptions within the state, and generally contributing to West Virginia's opioid epidemic.
In his media statement, the Republican Morrisey hinted of a settlement in the neighborhood of $30 million with Rite Aid.
"So many lives have been lost and shattered by this scourge," Morrisey said. "With this settlement and other settlements, we will provide significant help to those affected the most by the opioid crisis in our state."
A few months ago, Morrisey and the state reached similar settlements with drug companies Allegran and Teva for reportedly $161.5 million, a figure the West Virginia AG qualified as "record-breaking."
In addition to condemning Rite Aid for allegedly failing to monitor and report opioid prescriptions, the West Virginia lawsuit also accounted for the patients' "past and ongoing medical treatment costs," including the cost of rehabilitation, medical treatments, and minors born addicted to opioids.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), West Virginia posted the highest drug-overdose mortality rate in the United States for 2020, nearly doubling the pace of neighboring Kentucky.
The National Institute on Drug Abuse reports that fentanyl deaths among teens have tripled since 2020, with some victims dying without even knowing they were consuming the lethal drug.
Fentanyl, the most common drug involved with overdose incidents, is reportedly tens of times more powerful than morphine.
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