San Francisco said on Wednesday it reached a $230 million settlement with Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. over its role in the city’s opioid epidemic.
The settlement came nine months after U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer in San Francisco said the drugstore chain could be held liable for having “substantially contributed” to an opioid epidemic that caused “widespread harm” in the city and constituted a public nuisance.
Breyer faulted Walgreens for its “15-year failure” to properly scrutinize opioid prescriptions and flag possible misuse of the sometimes highly addictive drugs.
At a press conference, San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu called Walgreens’ settlement the largest awarded to a local government in years of opioid litigation nationwide….