Pharmacy Wholesalers Allegedly Sent over 12 Million Opioid Doses to a Single West Virginia Pharmacy

West Virginia has been hit hard by the opioid crisis and data shows the death rate from opioids in 2016 was 52 victims for every 100,000 residents.

New House of Energy and Commerce Committee documents allege that between 2006-2014 pharmacy wholesalers McKesson, AmerisourceBergen and Cardinal Health and others shipped over 12 million doses of opioids to a single pharmacy – Family Discount Pharmacy – located in Mount-Gay Shamrock, West Virginia, whose population is only 1,779. During the eight year period, there were enough opioid doses for each Mount-Gay Shamrock resident to have over 6,000 pills.

The Committee sent letters asking the wholesalers to explain what steps, if any, were taken to ensure that none of the opioids reached the black market

While it remains unclear how the Committee documents will impact the companies, many lawsuits in West Virginia and across the nation continue to name pharmacy wholesalers, distributors, manufacturers and even health care providers who may not have done their due diligence when addressing the opioid crisis.

Baer Law will keep you updated on any updates.