Latest Drugs Headlines
All the headlines from our Drugs Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Judge Nixes Medical Benefits Challenge to Federal Marijuana Laws
Feb 28 2018 // A judge on Monday dismissed a lawsuit challenging federal laws criminalizing marijuana as unconstitutional, saying the five plaintiffs had failed to pursue changes in the drug’s legal status by first going through...
10 Doctors Charged in West Virginia, Virginia Pill Mill Case
Feb 28 2018 // Ten doctors have been charged with overprescribing pain pills from clinics in West Virginia and Virginia, federal prosecutors announced Feb. 20. Two of those patients died. Most of the 69-count indictment charges the...
Judge Denies McKesson Bid to Keep Lawsuit Out of West Virginia County
Feb 27 2018 // The nation’s largest prescription drug distributor has lost its bid to keep a lawsuit out of a West Virginia county. News outlets report a judge rejected McKesson’s claim that it has no duty under state law to...
Florida House to Vote on Bill to Restrict, Monitor Opioid Prescriptions
Feb 26 2018 // The Florida House’s version of legislation to combat the state’s opioid epidemic is headed to the floor. The bill, which passed the Health & Human Services Committee last week, would impose new restrictions...
Medical Marijuana Gaining Favor as Treatment in Workers’ Compensation
Feb 23 2018 // Though states and the federal government remain at odds on marijuana legalization, the drug is gaining traction as a viable treatment in workers’ compensation claims. In a recent discussion with Claims Journal, Brian...
Arkansas Governor Says Special Session on Pharmacy Rates Possible
Feb 21 2018 // Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson says he’ll call a special legislative session to address reimbursement rates for pharmacies and to amend the state’s open container law if there is consensus among lawmakers on the...
Kentucky Sues Cardinal Health Over State Opioid Epidemic
Feb 21 2018 // Kentucky’s attorney general on Monday filed a lawsuit against drug distributor Cardinal Health Inc , accusing it of contributing to the opioid epidemic by failing to halt or report suspiciously large or frequent...
Accidental Deaths in Pennsylvania Rose in 2016, Driven By Opioid Overdose
Feb 19 2018 // According to National Safety Council (NSC) analysis of federal data, 1,086 more Pennsylvanians died accidentally in 2016, an increase of 15 percent over 2015. Opioid overdose led to 78 percent of those deaths. This comes...
Trump’s FTC Appointee Eyes Task Force to Investigate Drug Prices
Feb 16 2018 // President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Federal Trade Commission said he’s “very concerned” about price increases for prescription drugs and will explore forming a task force to monitor whether...
Tribe Continues Suit Against Drug Distributors; Refiles in State Court
Feb 12 2018 // The Cherokee Nation has refiled a lawsuit against opioid distributors in state court after a federal judge ruled that tribe’s court system had no jurisdiction over the companies. Lawyers filed the suit in Sequoyah...
Alabama Sues OxyContin Maker Purdue Pharma Over Opioid Epidemic
Feb 7 2018 // Alabama on Tuesday became the latest state to file a lawsuit accusing OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma LP of fueling the opioid epidemic by deceptively marketing prescription painkillers to generate billions of dollars in...
Jury Finds AbbVie Not Liable in AndroGel Injury Suit
Feb 5 2018 // A federal jury in Chicago on Jan. 26 found AbbVie Inc. not liable in a lawsuit by an Arizona man who claimed he had suffered a pulmonary embolism due to using the company’s testosterone replacement medication...
Legal Marijuana Worries Canadian Oil Companies with Strict Drug Testing Regimes
Feb 1 2018 // Once recreational marijuana becomes legal in Canada, Garnet Amundson says it will get a lot harder to find the workers he needs at Essential Energy Services Ltd. And he isn’t the only employer who’s...
5 in U.S., 2 in Italy Arrested Over $21M Opioid ‘Pill Mills’ Scheme in Florida, Tennessee
Feb 1 2018 // Two people in Italy and five U.S. residents have been charged in a fraud and drug trafficking conspiracy to distribute opioids in Florida and Tennessee, leading to hundreds of deaths, federal prosecutors said last...
Accidental Deaths in Pennsylvania Rose in 2016, Driven By Opioid Overdose
Jan 30 2018 // According to National Safety Council (NSC) analysis of federal data, 1,086 more Pennsylvanians died accidentally in 2016, an increase of 15 percent over 2015. Opioid overdose led to 78 percent of those deaths. This comes...
Jury Finds AbbVie Not Liable in AndroGel Injury Suit
Jan 29 2018 // A federal jury in Chicago on Friday found AbbVie Inc. not liable in a lawsuit by an Arizona man who claimed he had suffered a pulmonary embolism due to using the company’s testosterone replacement medication...
Arkansas Hires 5 Law Firms to Help with Opioid Abuse Probe
Jan 26 2018 // Arkansas’ attorney general has retained five law firms to help investigate drug companies and prepare for potential legal action over their role in the state’s opioid abuse problem. Attorney General Leslie...
West Virginia to Get $153K in Drugmaker Settlement
Jan 25 2018 // West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey said the state will receive more than $153,000 in a national settlement with a prescription drug manufacturer. Morrisey says in a news release last month that every state and...
Tennessee Gov Proposes $30M Plan to Fight State Opioid Epidemic
Jan 24 2018 // Gov. Bill Haslam touted a $30 million plan Monday that focuses on prevention, treatment and law enforcement to attack an opioid epidemic that kills at least three people a day in Tennessee. The Republican governor released...
New York City Sues Drug Companies Over Opioid Epidemic
Jan 24 2018 // New York City on Tuesday sued eight companies that make or distribute prescription opioids, blaming them for fueling a deadly epidemic afflicting the most populous U.S. city. Mayor Bill de Blasio said the lawsuit sought...
