[9] A Walgreens employee named Ivar Coulson modified the basic malted milk recipe by adding scoops of vanilla ice cream.

This expansion partly was attributed to selling prescribed alcohol, mainly whiskey, which Walgreen often stocked under the counter, as accounted in Daniel Okrent's Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition.

The company also created larger-sized Walgreens Superstores and purchased the Globe Discount City chain of big-box stores from United Mercantile, Inc. in the 1960s.

[16]On July 12, 2006, David Bernauer stepped down as CEO of Walgreens and was replaced by company president Jeff Rein, who was later named chief executive officer and chairman of the board.

[17] In 2007, Walgreens acquired Hal Rosenbluth's Take Care Health Systems, a chain of quick-care clinics, for an undisclosed amount.

A coalition of minority groups, led by Al Sharpton's National Action Network,[26] sent letters urging CEO Gregory Wasson to reconsider.

[36] On September 19, 2017, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) approved Walgreens' fourth attempt to purchase Rite Aid, with 1,932 stores, for $4.38 billion.

[38][39][additional citation(s) needed] On June 27, 2024, Walgreens said it would close a “significant portion” of its 8,600 U.S. locations within three years as it struggled to keep up with a fast-changing retail pharmacy industry.

"[47] In the summer of 2014, a corporate relocation to Switzerland was considered as part of a merger with Alliance Boots, a European drugstore chain.

[51] In March 2008, Walgreens settled a lawsuit with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) that alleged the company discriminated against African Americans for $24 million.

[53] In June 2008, after Walgreens was sued for drug fraud—"switching dosage forms on three medications without doctor approvals in order to boost profits"—it agreed to stop these actions and pay $35 million to the federal government, 42 states, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

"[57][58] In 2009, Walgreens threatened to leave the Medicaid program, the state and federal partnership to provide health insurance coverage to the poor, in Delaware over reimbursement rates.

[63] In September 2024, it agreed to another $106 million to settle whistleblower claims it billed federal programs for prescriptions that were temporarily bottled, but never picked up by patients.

[64] Walgreens was named in a lawsuit by the United Food and Commercial Workers Unions and Employers Midwest Health Benefits Fund in the Northern District Court of Illinois in January 2012.

The suit alleged that Walgreens and Par Pharmaceutical violated the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act[65] in "at least two widespread schemes to overcharge" for generic drugs.

[57] The lawsuit alleges drugstore chain Walgreen and generic pharmaceutical maker Par established a partnership in which Par manufactured and/or marketed generic versions of antacid Zantac and antidepressant Prozac in dosage forms that weren't subject to private and governmental reimbursement limitations.

Immediate suspension orders are an action taken when the DEA believes a registrant, such as a pharmacy or a doctor, is "an imminent danger to the public safety."

[66] In 2013, United States Attorney Wifredo Ferrer said Walgreens committed "an unprecedented number" of recordkeeping and dispensing violations.

The lawsuit claims that Walgreens willfully flooded the market with an oversupply of prescription narcotics in violation of public nuisance and consumer protection laws.

[74] The New York State Attorney General announced in April 2016 that a settlement was reached in the complaint that Walgreens used misleading advertising and overcharged consumers.

[76] In December 2012, a judge ordered Walgreens to pay $16.57 million to settle a lawsuit claiming that over 600 stores were illegally dumping hazardous waste and unlawfully disposing of customer records containing confidential medical information.

[77] A Santa Clara County Superior Court judge allowed Walgreens to pay $2.25 million in January 2018 to resolve a consumer protection lawsuit brought by Bay Area prosecutors alleging that the company sold expired baby food, infant formula, and over-the-counter drugs.

The suit also alleged that Walgreens violated state law by charging more than the lowest posted or advertised price for items.

[78] In June 2018, a staff pharmacist at a Walgreens in Peoria, Arizona, refused to give a woman medication to end her pregnancy.

[79][80] In September 2018, Walgreens agreed to pay $34.5 million to settle a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) investigation on charges of misleading investors on financial targets.

The SEC alleged that former CEO Greg Wasson and then-CFO Wade Miquelon acted "negligently" in giving financial estimates.

[81] In January 2019, Walgreens paid $269.2 million for two separate counts of defrauding the federal and 39 state governments in over-billing schemes.

[82] In February 2020, Walgreens agreed to pay $7.5 million to settle a consumer protection lawsuit accusing the company of placing people's health at risk by permitting an unlicensed person to work as a pharmacist without an adequate background check.

[83] When it was asked by the California Board of Pharmacy during the investigation, Walgreens was unable to furnish a copy of her employment application.

[96] In 2022, Walgreens dropped task-based metrics for pharmacy staff performance due to concerns that speed KPIs were putting patient safety at risk.