WHATCOM COUNTY, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – The state’s challenge to a major pharmacy chain with several locations in Whatcom County is now underway.

The trial against Albertsons Company began on Monday, July 13, in King County Superior Court after the state accused the company of fueling the opioid crisis.

The Washington State Attorney General’s Office claims Albertsons repeatedly ignored warning signs that the drugs they dispensed were being misused or resold on the illicit drug market.

Attorney General Nick Brown said the company sold more than 640 million opioid pills in the state between 2006 and 2022, many of which he argued had red flags that weren’t investigated before their sale.

According to the AG Office’s complaint, Albertsons had evidence that the majority of new opioid users began with prescription pills before switching to stronger opioids like heroin or fentanyl.

The trial is scheduled to last through the beginning of September.

Albertsons owns and operates more than 200 pharmacies across Washington, also under the Safeway and Haggen brands. Six of those pharmacies lie in Whatcom County, including four in Bellingham, one in Ferndale and one in Lynden.

Washington state has settled numerous lawsuits related to the opioid epidemic, resulting in nearly $1.29 billion in settlement funds awarded to the state as of June 2025. Previous defendents in the trials include Kroger, Rite-Aid, Purdue Pharma, Johnson & Johnson and PR agency Publicis Health.