Key Takeaways Walgreens Boots Alliance shares tumbled Tuesday after Department of Justice allegations that its pharmacies dispensed prescriptions with no legitimate medical reasoning.The DOJ filed a lawsuit late last week accusing the pharmacy of handing out "millions of unlawful prescriptions" for dangerous opioids,

The Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a lawsuit late last week against Walgreens alleging the company and its subsidiaries unlawfully dispensed and sought reimbursement for “millions” of prescripti | The pharmacy chain dispensed “dangerous and excessive quantities,

In it, the government accuses Walgreens of filling millions of unlawful prescriptions, including for excessive quantities of opioids, early refills of opioids and the so-called “holy trinity” of commonly abused drugs: an opioid, a benzodiazepine and a muscle relaxant.

The S&P 500 added 0.9% on Tuesday, Jan. 21, the first day of trading following President Donald Trump's return to the White House.

The Department of Justice accused Walgreens of filing millions of prescriptions without a legitimate purpose, including those for opioids. The 300-page lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois,

The pharmacy “allowed millions of opioid pills and other controlled substances to flow illegally out of Walgreens stores,” the Justice Department said.

Over the last two decades, opioid painkillers have been blamed for more than 500,000 deaths in the US. Big drugstore chains including Walgreens have already agreed to pay more than $13 billion to resolve multiple state and local government lawsuits accusing them of mishandling opioids and downplaying the addiction risks.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. tumbled after the US sued the company last week claiming its pharmacists filled millions of prescriptions that lacked a legitimate medical purpose and then sought reimbursements from federal health programs.