Retail giant Walmart proposed a $3.1 billion legal settlement on Tuesday after attorney generals of multiple US states alleged that the company failed to regulate opioid prescriptions leading to a nationwide crisis. The lawsuit accuses Walmart pharmacies of improperly filling prescriptions for powerful painkillers. 

Along with CVS Health and Walgreen Co., the company became the third major drug industry player to support local and tribal governments dealing with the overdose crisis earlier in 2022 that contributed to many deaths.

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The company said in a statement that it “strongly disputes the allegations in these matters” and the settlement offer does not imply admission to liability. 

It added that Walmart “believes the settlement framework is in the best interest of all parties and will provide significant aid to communities across the country in the fight against the opioid crisis, with aid reaching state and local governments faster than any other nationwide opioid settlement to date, subject to satisfying all settlement requirements.”

If the settlement framework is approved and all the conditions in it are satisfied, it will absolve the company of all the charges from the state, local, and tribal governments against it. 

The Associated Press (AP) reports that opioids of all kinds have been linked to more than 500,000 deaths in the U.S. over the past two decades.

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New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a press release that hereafter the company will have to comply with oversight measures, prevent fraudulent prescriptions and flag suspicious ones.

Doug Peterson, the Nebraska Attorney General, said that Walmart has acted more responsibly than other companies in working with concerned authorities to deal with the matter. 

“Although Walmart filled significantly fewer prescriptions for opioids then CVS or Walgreens, since 2018 Walmart has been the most proactive in trying to monitor and control prescription opioid diversion attempted through its pharmacies,” he said in a statement.