FRANKFORT, Kentucky — Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman has filed a lawsuit against the Kroger Company, accusing the grocery giant of contributing to the devastating opioid epidemic in the state.
The lawsuit alleges that Kroger pharmacies, numbering over 100 within Kentucky, dispensed a staggering 11% of all opioid pills in the state between 2006 and 2019. This amounted to over 444 million doses, fueled by the purchase of more than four billion morphine milligram equivalents (MMEs) of opioids during the same period.
“For more than a decade, Kroger flooded Kentucky with an almost unthinkable number of opioid pills that directly led to addiction, pain and death,” Attorney General Coleman stated. “Kroger, trusted by families, knowingly made these dangerous substances all too accessible.”
The lawsuit further accuses Kroger of failing to implement any effective monitoring program despite having access to data flagging suspicious opioid orders and unusual prescribing patterns. Notably, the lawsuit claims Kroger did not report a single suspicious prescription in Kentucky between 2007 and 2014.
“As a distributor and dispenser, Kroger had the responsibility to prevent the misuse of opioids,” Coleman emphasized. “Their lack of action fueled the addiction crisis that ravaged countless lives across Kentucky.”
This lawsuit comes on the heels of another settlement announced by General Coleman earlier this month. Publicis Health, a marketing agency, agreed to pay nearly $7 million for its role in promoting opioid medications.
