Retail pharmacies to issue defense in first opioid trial

Lawyers from Lake and Trumbull Counties in Ohio will begin delivering their opening statements to a federal jury in Cleveland in a case alleging that pharmaceutical companies, drug distribution businesses and major retail chains are responsible for the opioid epidemic that has destroyed a large number of lives in their communities. CVS, Giant Eagle, Walgreens and Walmart are named in the suit. The case in Cleveland is the first of more than 3,300 that have been filed against the plaintiffs in courts across the U.S.