HAGERSTOWN, MD (August 19, 2019) - Washington County Government , the City of Hagerstown , and the Poole Law Group inform citizens that i nformation from ARCOS (Automation of Reports and Consolidated Orders)—the DEA's reporting system for controlled substance transactions—is now publicly available. This information shows which companies supplied opioids and which companies distributed opioids in Washington County. The data also reveals which pharmacies dispensed the most opioids in Washington County. The time period covered is from 2006 to 2012. 

The national trial team has reformatted the information so that the public can read summaries of millions of lines of data. Those summary reports include “Total Dosage Units of 15 Opioid Drugs”, “State of Maryland and Washington County: 14 Opioid Drugs Dosage Units Market Share”, “Labeler Market Share by Drug, 2006-2012”, “Labeler Market Share by Morphine Milligram Equivalents (MME), 2006-2012” and “Opioid Shipments to Pharmacies”. This is all now available at www.SLCG.com under the "opioids" tab. “Labeler” is another term for “manufacturer”. 

For Washington County, the numbers are grim. From 2006 to 2012, a county with a population that averaged approximately 147,088 people received over 55.7 million doses of opioids. 

Hydrocodone and oxycodone accounted for 77% of all opioids distributed in the county. Over 90% of the hydrocodone came through 3 manufacturers and 65.4% of the oxycodone came through 2 manufacturers. Those manufacturers are SpecGx, Par Pharma, and Actavis Pharma. They are the generic arms of Mallinckrodt, Endo Pharmaceuticals, and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, respectively. 

The top 2 distributors of oxycodone were Cardinal Health, followed by McKesson, and other distributors. The top distributors of hydrocodone were CVS, McKesson, and other distributors. 

The top 10 pharmacies distributing the drugs were as follows: 

  1. CVS (6 DEA licenses) - combined total of 15,845,162 total dosage units (TDU)/261,862,079 MME 
  2. Home Care Pharmacy (6 DEA licenses) – combined total of 8,510,232 TDU/148,646,488 MME 
  3. Wal-Mart – 2,327,260 TDU/21,600,825 MME 
  4. Boonsboro Pharmacy – 2,207,987 TDU/40,349,059 MME 
  5. Russo’s – 2,114,044 TDU/65,377,484 MME 
  6. Martin’s Pharmacy (3 DEA licenses) – combined total of 1,795,960 TDU/20,668,868 MME 
  7. Rite-Aid (2 DEA licenses) – combined total of 1,691,441/25,982,248 MME 
  8. Schindel’s Pharmacy – 1,572,892 TDU/37,395,121 MME 
  9. Magnolia Square Pharmacy – 1,558,540 TDU/24,047,647 MME 
  10. Target Stores – 1,185,187 TDU/12,521,127 MME 

Maryland CVS Pharmacy, LLC (East Wilson Boulevard location) was ranked as #18 in the report entitled, “Opioid Shipments to Top 20 Pharmacies in MD, by Dosage”. 

Washington County’s and the City of Hagerstown’s cases are part of the national opioid multi-district litigation (MDL) #2804. The opioid MDL is being overseen by the Hon. Daniel A. Polster. While there is much more information that we are receiving through the MDL’s discovery process, we are not authorized to release it at this time. 

The first consolidated trial in the opioid MDL—"Track One” representing Summit County, Ohio and Cuyahoga County, Ohio—commences October 21, 2019. That trial will be held in Cleveland, Ohio. Much more information should become available to the public as a result of the trial. 

Washington County and the City of Hagerstown are aggressively preparing for trial in order to recover damages now being suffered by the taxpayers and also to mandate a change as to how these drugs are marketed and distributed in our County. 

For additional information, please contact Bruce Poole of the Poole Law Group at 301-790-3600, or at Kathy.Poole@poolelg.com . 

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