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A federal judge on Wednesday ordered three pharmacy chains to pay Lake and Trumbull counties a combined $650 million for the businesses’ role in the opioid epidemic. U.S. District Judge Dan Polster handed down his decision Wednesday in a 76-page opinion that mostly sided with the counties’ arguments that Walgreens, CVS and Walmart recklessly dispensed prescription painkillers in the two Northeast Ohio communities. The counties said the chains’ actions led to overdoses, addictions and an overwhelmed community resource network. (Ferrise, 8/17)

The opioid crisis has overwhelmed courts, social-service agencies and law enforcement in Ohio’s blue-collar corner east of Cleveland, leaving behind heartbroken families and babies born to addicted mothers, Lanier told jurors. Roughly 80 million prescription painkillers were dispensed in Trumbull County alone between 2012 and 2016 — equivalent to 400 for every resident. In Lake County, some 61 million pills were distributed during that period. (Gillispie, 8/17)

When reached for comment, all three companies said they intended to appeal the ruling. In a statement, Walmart accused the plaintiffs of seeking “deep pockets” to sue and said the trial was riddled with “remarkable legal and factual mistakes.” “Instead of addressing the real causes of the opioid crisis, like pill mill doctors, illegal drugs and regulators asleep at the switch, plaintiffs’ lawyers wrongly claimed that pharmacists must second-guess doctors in a way the law never intended and many federal and state health regulators say interferes with the doctor-patient relationship,” Walmart said. (Choi, 8/17)

“We strongly disagree with the Court’s decision regarding the counties’ abatement plan, as well as last fall’s underlying verdict,” said Michael DeAngelis, executive director for corporate communications for CVS Health Corp. “Pharmacists fill legal prescriptions written by DEA-licensed doctors who prescribe legal, FDA-approved substances to treat actual patients in need.” (Ansari, 8/17)

The Legislature’s Joint Committee on Finance has delayed the Evers administration's spending plan for $31 million in settlement funds to combat the state's opioid epidemic. Earlier this month, the state Department of Health Services submitted a proposal to the committee recommending how the state should use the money awarded from a legal settlement with pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors. (Hess, 8/17)

When it comes to fighting opioid addiction, there’s no tool more effective than methadone. Doctors have been prescribing the drug since the 1960s, and patients who use it are far less likely to experience an overdose. (Facher, 8/18)