Ashley Moody

The request was part of a flurry of legal activity after Leon County Judge John Cooper issued a temporary injunction to block the law and the state filed an appeal, which keeps the ban in place.

Attorney General Ashley Moody’s lawsuit contends five hospital districts, by pursuing separate claims against pharmaceutical industry companies, are jeopardizing settlements her office has reached.

The order targeted drugs known as nitazenes, which Moody’s office said have been linked since 2022 to at least 15 deaths in Florida, including five reported by the Pasco-Pinellas medical examiner.

The decision was made in response to the increasing spread of the omicron subvariant and an increase in the seven-day moving average of cases, which have risen by around 25% over the last two weeks.

The Pasco trial is expected to last a couple of months. The state says Walgreens ignored red flags and filled millions of suspicious prescriptions. Walgreens says drugmakers misled pharmacies about risks.

Center for COVID Control, which closed its Florida sites in January after receiving complaints about questionable results, is accused of deceptively marketing testing services and violating Oregon’s Unlawful Trade Practices Act.

The lawsuit centers on settlements the attorney general's office reached with companies that manufacture, distribute or sell opioids — and similar lawsuits that the hospital systems and school board have filed.

Florida contends Walgreens has been an integral part of the opioid epidemic. Opening statements are set for early next week. The pharmacy chain says it will not settle.

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.

The lawsuit contends, in part, the CDC overstepped its legal authority in requiring masks for travelers while violating states’ “quasi-sovereign interests in the health, safety, and welfare of their citizens."