More than 100 billion doses of opioids were dispensed in the U.S. between 2006 and 2014, federal data reveals.

The staggering number, which was revealed Tuesday by the Drug Enforcement Administration, shows the opioids — which consisted of oxycodone and hydrocodone — were primarily distributed by six major companies. They include the McKesson Corp., Cardinal Health, Walgreens, AmerisourceBergen, CVS and Walmart.

Peter J. Mougey, a Florida attorney representing a group suing the opioid industry, says the information proves pharmaceutical companies are to blame for the crisis. “In excess of 100 billion pills is simply jaw-dropping,” he says. “The data demonstrates that every community in the country has been negatively impacted.”

Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/more-than-100-billion-pain-pills-saturated-the-nation-over-nine-years/2020/01/14/fde320ba-db13-11e9-a688-303693fb4b0b_story.html