Dec 10 (Reuters) - Ohio's highest court on Tuesday ruled

that pharmacy chain operators CVS, Walmart ( WMT ) and

Walgreens could not be sued under state law for creating

a public nuisance in local communities by fueling an opioid

epidemic.

The ruling by the Ohio Supreme Court put into jeopardy a

$650.9 million judgment that the state's Lake and Trumbull

counties won following the first trial the three pharmacy

operators had faced in nationwide litigation over the deadly

U.S. opioid addiction epidemic.

(Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston)