Walgreens shares sank Tuesday, the first day of trading since the Department of Justice announced a lawsuit accusing the pharmacy chain of dispensing "millions of unlawful prescriptions" with no legitimate medical purpose.

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 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,

The U.S. Justice Department is accusing Walgreens of filling millions of prescriptions in the last decade and more without a legitimate purpose, including for dangerous amounts of opioids,

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.

Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) fell by 6% following allegations by the U.S. Justice Department that the pharmacy chain dispensed millions of unlawful prescriptions in violation of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) and the False Claims Act (FCA).

The DOJ is suing Walgreens, claiming pharmacists filled millions of prescriptions that lacked a legitimate medical purpose.

The Justice Department has filed a nationwide lawsuit against Walgreens, alleging the pharmacy chain filled millions of prescriptions without legitimate medical purposes, particularly involving dangerous opioid combinations,