opioid crisis

Walgreens was the 12th and final defendant in the state's legal battle against opioid manufacturers, distributors and pharmaceutical companies it holds responsible for the epidemic.

Attorney General Ashley Moody issued an emergency rule to outlaw eight synthetic drugs known as nitazenes. The order said the drugs are commonly available online and through illicit drug markets.

After inking $2.4 billion in settlements with prescription drug manufacturers, distributors and retailers, the state is set for a courtroom showdown with Walgreens over the pharmacy giant’s role in the opioid epidemic.

The settlements left Walgreens as the sole defendant in a lawsuit that targeted businesses involved in all aspects of the opioid industry. A Pasco County judge is scheduled to begin jury selection next week.

A new wave of opioid deaths, often mixed with psychostimulants, is raising old fears in Palm Beach County. And now families are urging the sheriff's office to carry Narcan.

The Sacklers, who own Purdue Pharma, maker of Oxycontin, have maintained they did nothing wrong. People who lost loved ones and years of their lives to opioid addiction believe otherwise.

The deal, hashed out over weeks of intense negotiations, raises the amount paid by the Sacklers by more than $1 billion. In exchange, the family members win immunity from civil opioid lawsuits.

The companies, including Johnson & Johnson and McKesson, will admit no wrongdoing. Billions of dollars in payouts will fund drug treatment and harm reduction programs.

Companies at the center of the deadly prescription opioid epidemic are close to deals that would cap their liability while funding drug treatment and recovery programs.

Johnson & Johnson, AmerisourceBergen, McKesson and Cardinal Health will pay $590 million to Native American tribes under a proposed settlement for the companies' role in the opioid crisis.

Thousands of Floridians received overpayment notices from the state with minimal information. Also, a discussion on the opioid epidemic in South Florida. Plus, a Key West artist finally gets recognized for designing many Lilly Pulitzer textiles.

In the Purdue Pharma bankruptcy trial now underway, scrutiny has focused on the Sacklers' demand for immunity from opioid lawsuits that would extend to a vast network of individuals and businesses.