Walgreens agrees to pay $230 million in opioid settlement with San Francisco.

Walgreens will pay San Francisco a $230 million settlement for its role in the opioid epidemic, the largest award provided to a local jurisdiction from an opioid defendant. The payments will come in stages over the next eight years. A federal court found that Walgreens “substantially contributed” to the opioid epidemic, resulting in millions of Americans becoming dependent on opioids. Walgreens is one of the largest pharmaceutical providers in the San Francisco area. The opioid crisis ultimately led to the rise of fentanyl, a cheap and potentially fatal opioid often laced into other street drugs.