ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — A trial has opened in Florida’s opioid epidemic lawsuit against the Walgreens pharmacy chain.

State officials accuse the chain of prioritizing profits over health by improperly dispensing millions of powerful painkillers that caused tens of thousands of deaths.

The trial began Monday in Pasco County, north of Tampa. The state’s case hinges on accusations that as Walgreens dispensed more than 4.3 billion total opioid pills in Florida from May 2006 to June 2021 though more than half contained one or more easily recognized red flags for abuse, fraud and addiction. Walgreens has denied the state’s claims.