A top U.S. opioid distributor is pointing fingers at the government for the deluge of prescription painkillers that have poured into Native American communities at alarmingly high rates.

A top U.S. opioid distributor is pointing fingers at the government for the deluge of prescription painkillers that have poured into Native American communities at alarmingly high rates.

McKesson Corp., one of the country’s three big wholesale drug distributors, is embroiled in litigation brought by Oklahoma-based Cherokee Nation, the country's largest tribal group, which has suffered severely from abuse and overdose. As part of its defense, the company recently pointed to its $31 billion, multiyear contract to supply drugs to the Veterans Affairs Department and other federal agencies, arguing it was just following the government’s guidance. Read more.