The Department of Justice (DOJ) unsealed a civil complaint on Dec. 18 alleging that CVS Pharmacy Inc. and various subsidiaries helped contribute to the opioid crisis by knowingly filling unlawful prescriptions in violation of the federal Controlled Substances Act while also seeking reimbursement from federal health care programs. In the complaint, filed in federal court in Providence, Rhode Island, the DOJ alleged that the prescriptions filled by the company lacked a legitimate medical purpose, were not valid, or were not issued in the “usual course of professional practice.” According to the DOJ, CVS filled unlawful prescriptions, including those for “dangerous and excessive” quantities of opioids, early refills of opioids, and trinity prescriptions, described by the department as “an especially dangerous and abused combination of drugs consisting of an opioid, a benzodiazepine, and a muscle relaxant.”