Report: Over 41 Million Opioid Pills Distributed in Hudson Valley
Over 41 million opioid pills were sold in the Mid-Hudson Valley over a six-year period, according to newly released federal data.
Around 6 billion oxycodone and hydrocodone pain pills were distributed by America’s largest drug companies between 2006 through 2012, according to data the Washington Post researched.
The Washington Post's information comes from the Drug Enforcement Administrations database which the Washington Post gained access to after a year-long legal battle. The database tracks every pain pill sold in the United States, in every town and city.
"The data provides an unprecedented look at the surge of legal pain pills that fueled the prescription opioid epidemic, which has resulted in nearly 100,000 deaths from 2006 through 2012," the Scott Higham Sari Horwitz and Steven Rich wrote in their article.
In New York, from 2006 until 2012 there were 3,338,304,794 prescription pain pills supplied, according to the Washington Post.
Below are the top five pharmacies in Ulster, Dutchess and Orange counties which sold the most pain pills, according to the Washington Post.
Ulster County:
- Walgreen, Kingston: 4,678,590
- New Paltz Pharmacy, New Paltz: 2,584,070
- Eckerd Corporation, Kingston: 2,497,780
- Dedricks Pharmacy, Kingston: 2,424,780
- CVS, Saugerties: 2,241,800
Dutchess County:
- CVS, Fishkill: 3,381,750
- Molloys Medical Arts Pharmacy,Poughkeepsie: 3,272,520
- Irwin, William C, Hyde Park: 2,567,360
- CVS, Dover Plains: 1,944,930
- Walmart Pharmacy, Fishkill: 1,911,380
Orange County
- Middletown Apothecary, Middletown: 5,298,100
- Newburgh Chemists, Newburgh: 3,725,140
- Braunagle & Braunagle, Port Jervis: 3,134,490
- Rite Aid, Middletown: 2,419,360
- Akin's Pharmacy, Warwick: 2,199,020
A DEA spokeswoman declined to comment to the Washington Post.
Walgreen told the Washington Post that they have "been an industry leader in combatting this crisis in the communities where our pharmacists live and work."
CVS told Washington Post the allegations have no merit and the company is "aggressively defending against them." Walmart declined to comment.