As the opioid epidemic continues in the United States and ongoing litigation seeks to hold contributors responsible, state governments have initiated lawsuits against retail pharmacies for their role in contributing to the crisis. This article summarizes an action the State of West Virginia brought against CVS, which the parties recently settled in the fall of 2022. This article examines the unique position of retail pharmacies like CVS, which often serve as both distributors and dispensers, in contributing to the oversaturation and illicit diversion of opioid prescriptions. The article concludes by assessing the viability of potential causes of action against retail pharmacies in opioid litigation.

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阿片类药物诉讼：从零售药房和解中吸取的教训

随着阿片类药物在美国继续流行，并且正在进行的诉讼试图追究捐助者的责任，州政府已针对零售药店在助长危机中的作用提起诉讼。本文总结了西弗吉尼亚州对 CVS 提起的一项诉讼，双方最近于 2022 年秋季达成和解。本文探讨了像 CVS 这样的零售药店的独特地位，它们通常同时充当分销商和配药商，为阿片类药物处方的过度饱和和非法转移。本文最后评估了在阿片类药物诉讼中针对零售药店提起诉讼的潜在原因的可行性。