Latest Drugs Headlines
All the headlines from our Drugs Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Report: Alabama No. 1 in Country for Prescription Opioid Use
Oct 3 2016 // Alabama has the highest level of prescription opioid use in the country, and companies that make the painkillers and their allies have hired an average of 18 lobbyists annually in the state since 2006 to push their...
Report Details Drug Dispensing in California Workers’ Comp
Oct 3 2016 // California’s Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau has issued a report that shows the share of drug payments made directly to dispensing physicians compared with pharmacies fell by 20 percent over three...
Insurance Commissioner: Overdose Death Rate High in Louisiana
Sep 29 2016 // The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says Louisiana’s drug overdose death rate exceeds the national average, the Louisiana Department of Insurance reported. In addition, a recent study released by the...
South Carolina Sees Nearly as Many Opioid Deaths as Traffic Accidents in 2015
Sep 26 2016 // Experts are warning about the dangers of opioid and heroin abuse in South Carolina, pointing out that almost as many people die from overdoses of such drugs as are killed in accidents each year on the state’s...
Massachusetts Resisting Drugmakers’ Efforts to Weaken Anti-Opioid Measures
Sep 21 2016 // Massachusetts appears to be bucking efforts by makers of prescription painkillers to kill or weaken measures aimed at stemming the tide of prescription opioids. The drugmakers say they’re combating the addiction...
Jim Carrey Sued in California for Wrongful Death of Ex-Girlfriend
Sep 20 2016 // The husband of Jim Carrey’s former girlfriend is suing the actor, accusing him of illegally supplying Cathriona White with prescription drugs that resulted in her death. The wrongful death lawsuit filed by...
More Than $500K Donated to Delaware Officials to Address Rising Opioid Deaths
Sep 20 2016 // As the number of overdose deaths from prescription painkillers has soared in recent years, pharmaceutical companies that manufacture opioid painkillers, and allied advocacy groups, have donated more than $500,000 to state...
Pain Care Lobby Gave $3.5M in Ohio Political Donations as Opioid Deaths Climbed
Sep 19 2016 // As Ohio’s overdose epidemic has climbed toward a record high, an army of lobbyists representing makers of prescription painkillers and their allies poured more than $3.5 million into Ohio political...
Report: Alabama No. 1 in Country for Prescription Opioid Use
Sep 19 2016 // Alabama has the highest level of prescription opioid use in the country, and companies that make the painkillers and their allies have hired an average of 18 lobbyists annually in the state since 2006 to push their...
Drugs in U.S. Workplace at Highest Level in Decade
Sep 16 2016 // Following years of declines, the percentage of employees in the combined U.S. workforce testing positive for drugs has steadily increased over the last three years to a 10-year high. An analysis of nearly 11 million...
Report Details Drug Dispensing in California Workers’ Comp
Sep 15 2016 // California’s Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau has issued a report that shows the share of drug payments made directly to dispensing physicians compared with pharmacies fell by 20 percent over three...
Does Drug Company Money Affect Doctors’ Judgment?
Sep 15 2016 // The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has a message for doctors: The money you’re taking from pharmaceutical companies may be clouding your judgment. Research sites where Pfizer Inc. had paid doctors at least $25,000...
CVS in Massachusetts Agrees to Pay $795K to State in Opioids Settlement
Sep 6 2016 // CVS Pharmacy Inc., the largest pharmacy chain in the U.S., is set to strengthen its policies around dispensing opioids in Massachusetts and pay $795,000 to the state in a recent settlement between the pharmacy and Attorney...
Mississippi Physician Accused of Trading Prescription Drugs For Escorts
Sep 6 2016 // Federal officials say a Mississippi physician offered to illegally trade prescriptions for escort services and later sold prescriptions for money to the escort and an undercover agent. Dr. Michael Loebenberg of Ocean...
How Random Alcohol, Drug Testing Keep Skies Safe
Sep 2 2016 // Work on—or anywhere near—a U.S. commercial aircraft, and chances are good you’ll encounter a random drug or alcohol test. These screenings are the foundation of a risk program aimed at keeping substance abuse...
Senate Candidate Eldridge, Arkansas Democrats Back Medical Marijuana
Sep 1 2016 // Democratic U.S. Senate hopeful Conner Eldridge has endorsed legalizing medical marijuana, a move that comes days after Arkansas Democrats voted to support making the drug available to some patients. But both Eldridge and...
New York Set to Expand Medical Marijuana Program
Sep 1 2016 // New York state will loosen rules on marijuana prescribing, allow home delivery of the drug and take other steps to expand its medical cannabis program, health officials announced on Tuesday. The announcement follows a...
Prescription Drug Use Up, Out-of-Pocket Spending Down Under Affordable Care Act: RAND
Sep 1 2016 // People who gained health coverage following the implementation of the federal Affordable Care Act’s coverage expansion sharply increased their use of prescription drugs, while their out-of-pocket spending for...
Woman High on Drugs and Driving on Wheel Rim Sparked California Wildfires
Aug 30 2016 // Fire officials in southern California say a car driven by a woman high on drugs has sparked several wildfires that so far have burned 450 acres and prompted evacuations. Authorities say Renee Hogan was arrested Sunday. The...
Suit Alleges Valeant Ran Secret Prescription Refill Scam
Aug 19 2016 // Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. refilled patients’ prescriptions without their permission and steered them to more expensive drugs in order to boost sales and profits, according to a lawsuit that sheds new...
