CVS and Walgreens have agreed to pay a combined $10.7 billion to settle allegations they failed to adequately oversee opioid painkiller prescriptions, thus contributing to America's opioid addiction crisis.Even as declines from prescriptions like oxycontin have leveled off, deaths from heroin, which is illegal, and fentanyl, a commonly prescribed painkiller, have surged, the group said."With opioids, that unfortunately left many people to seek out substances such as heroin on the illicit market, where the purity and potency is unreliable, making them even riskier than prescription opioids.And once drug traffickers embraced the potent opioid fentanyl, it pervaded the illegal drug trade and became entangled with non-opioid substances, such as cocaine and methamphetamine."“We are committed to working with states, municipalities and tribes, and will continue our own important initiatives to help reduce the illegitimate use of prescription opioids.”“As one of the largest pharmacy chains in the nation, we remain committed to being a part of the solution, and this settlement framework will allow us to keep our focus on the health and wellbeing of our customers and patients, while making positive contributions to address the opioid crisis," Walgreens said in a statement."