Story highlights The Cherokee Nation alleges that opioid distributors and pharmacies neglect their role in curbing the epidemic

Some of these companies have been sued in the past for similar reasons

(CNN) The Cherokee Nation filed a lawsuit against pharmacies and drug distributors on Thursday, alleging that the companies have not done their part to curb the opioid epidemic that has gripped the tribal community.

Among the companies named are pharmacies such as Walmart, CVS and Walgreens. Also named are companies that distribute opioid medications to these pharmacies: AmerisourceBergen, McKesson and Cardinal Health.

"The brunt of the epidemic could have been, and should have been, prevented by the defendant companies," the lawsuit alleges.

The Cherokee Nation has accused the companies of not complying with federal drug regulations, which include keeping detailed information on the medications they sell, protecting pills from theft and refusing to fill "suspicious" prescriptions. The companies "have turned a blind eye," the lawyers wrote, while opioid pills have fallen into the wrong hands and made their way to the "illicit black market."

"There's a very large volume of opioids being distributed in the Cherokee territory -- sufficiently large to be shocking," said Richard Fields, special counsel to the attorney general of the Cherokee Nation.

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