Ohio judge hears if pharmacy chains should pay for driving opioid crisis

CVS, Walgreens and Walmart Were found to recklessly dispense narcotic painkillers in two Ohio counties, fueling a drug epidemic

A federal judge in Cleveland has begun hearing demands that three of the largest pharmacy chains in the US pay billions of dollars in restitution after a jury found they helped drive America's opioid epidemic.

The size of the award against CVS, Walgreens and Walmart for recklessly dispensing narcotic painkillers in two Ohio counties will help decide the total payout in thousands of federal cases across the country involving drug makers, distributors and pharmacies accused of enabling a drug epidemic that has claimed more than one million lives over two decades.