Sept 6 (Reuters) - U.S. pharmacy operators Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA.O), Walmart Inc (WMT.N) and Kroger Co (KR.N) on Tuesday faced off against the state of New Mexico in the latest trial over their alleged role in the U.S. opioid epidemic, following recent high-profile losses for pharmacies in other lawsuits.
New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas, in his opening statement, argued that the pharmacies were supposed to act as a "dam" against a flood of illegitimate opioid prescriptions by refusing to fill prescriptions with "red flags" that signaled abuse.
"The defendants had a legal duty, I believe, to hold back the flood and protect New Mexicans from harm," he told Judge Francis Matthew, who is presiding over the non-jury trial in the 1st Judicial Circuit of New Mexico in Santa Fe.
