Opioid Distributors Win Case Alleging They Fueled Drug Abuse (1)

A federal judge rejected claims that the three largest US opioid distributors ignored warning signs when they sent millions of pills to a West Virginia community, handing a rare trial win for companies linked to the drug epidemic.

US District Judge David Faber said in an opinion Monday McKesson Corp., Cardinal Health Inc. and AmerisourceBergen Corp. didn’t create a public nuisance in Cabell County, West Virginia, and its largest city, Huntington. The plaintiffs alleged between 2006 and 2014, the companies delivered more than 127 million painkillers to pharmacies in the county -- or about 142 pills annually for each ...