Tennessee sues Walgreens over opioid prescription onslaught Tennessee’s attorney general said Wednesday he has sued Walgreens, accusing the drugstore chain of contributing to the state’s opioid crisis by failing to maintain effective controls against the abuse of prescription pain pills. The lawsuit seeking unspecified civil penalties was filed in Knox County Circuit Court by Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery III and alleges violations of Tennessee’s Consumer Protection Act. The lawsuit said that between 2006 and 2020, Walgreens retail stores in Tennessee dispensed more than 1.1 billion oxycodone and hydrocodone pills. One pharmacy alone in Jamestown dispensed enough opioids over that period to supply each resident with 2,104 pills. “Walgreens did not flood the State of Tennessee with opioids by accident,” Slatery said in a statement. “Rather, the fuel that Walgreens added to the fire of the opioid epidemic was the result of knowing — or willfully ignorant — corporate decisions. Walgreens ignored numerous red flags and failed to detect and prevent the abuse and diversion of dangerous narcotics.” Walgreens did not offer immediate comment Wednesday.