Latest Drugs Headlines
All the headlines from our Drugs Topic Page, ordered by recency.
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...
Could This New Drug Ease America’s Opioid Crisis?
Aug 18 2016 // So far, the fight against America’s opioid crisis has focused on treating addiction and curbing abuse. In February, President Barack Obama asked Congress for $1.1 billion to fund health care for addicts, and last...
Officials Say Texas’ Closed Formulary Is Lowering Workers’ Comp Costs
Aug 17 2016 // A recent analysis by researchers at the Texas Department of Insurance shows that the Texas pharmacy closed formulary is lowering costs and reducing the use of opioids in the workers’ compensation system, the...
DEA Denies Marijuana Petition, Restrictions on Use Remain
Aug 11 2016 // Denying a petition to loosen marijuana restrictions, U.S. officials said regulations on the drug’s use will remain in place, although more of it may be available for research into potential medical therapies. The...
French Women Took Sanofi Epilepsy Drug Despite Risk to Fetuses: Report
Aug 11 2016 // More than 10,000 pregnant women in France took Sanofi’s anti-epilepsy drug Depakine between 2007 and 2014 although the risk of fetus malformation was known, according to a study quoted by French satirical weekly Le...
New Great American Endorsement Covers Use of Drug to Prevent Opioid Overdoses
Aug 11 2016 // Great American Insurance Group has launched a professional liability endorsement to cover the administration of Naloxone, a drug that counteracts opiates. The endorsement, offered through its Specialty Human Services...
Pfizer Agrees to $486M Settlement with Shareholders Over Concealing Drug Risks
Aug 4 2016 // Pfizer Inc. on Tuesday said it has reached a $486 million settlement of litigation accusing it of causing big losses for shareholders by concealing safety risks associated with its Celebrex and Bextra pain-relieving...
Wisconsin Board Adopts Opioid Prescription Guidelines
Aug 2 2016 // Wisconsin doctors should prescribe opioids sparingly, tell patients they could become addicted and avoid the drugs as the first option to treat pain, according to new guidelines the state Medical Examining Board recently...
Law Firm: Baylor’s Strict Conduct Code May Have Silenced Rape Victims
Aug 1 2016 // The sexual assault scandal that took down Baylor University’s president and revered football coach also found a problem with a bedrock of the school’s faith-based education: a student conduct code banning...
$30M Settlement with Bristol-Myers Squibb in California Whistleblower Suit
Jul 18 2016 // California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones reached a $30 million settlement with pharmaceutical giant Bristol-Myers Squibb over allegations of drug marketing fraud and physician kickbacks. The settlement stems from...
Study: 43% of Insurers’ Prescription Payments Going to Specialty Drugs
Jul 12 2016 // The latest study of medicine prices finds U.S. insurers’ spending on expensive prescription drugs nearly quadrupled from 2003 through 2014, when the number of such prescriptions filled tripled. Spending on expensive...
Chinese Forced into Massive Debt to Pay for Vital Healthcare
Jul 11 2016 // As China’s medical bills rise steeply, outpacing government insurance provision, patients and their families are increasingly turning to loans to pay for healthcare, adding to the country’s growing burden of...
5 Drug Wholesalers to Settle West Virginia Pill Shipment Lawsuit for $4.2M
Jun 28 2016 // Five drug wholesalers have agreed to a $4.2 million settlement in a lawsuit alleging that they shipped an excessive number of prescription opioids to West Virginia, the attorney general said June 23. According to a news...
New Twist in Colorado Marijuana Debate: Why Not Allow Pot Clubs?
Jun 23 2016 // Legal marijuana is giving Colorado a stinky conundrum. Visitors can buy the drug, but they can’t use it in public. Or in a rental car. Or in most hotel rooms. The result is something marijuana advocates and opponents...
Opioid Alternatives Can Be Hard-to-Find and Costly
Jun 22 2016 // Ken Manning’s head is held up by two metal rods, four plates, and 17 screws in his neck. Since falling off a frame at a carpentry job in the early 2000s, he has had four surgeries, leaving his tanned neck covered in...
U.S. Targets Internet Sites Selling Illegal Prescription Medicines
Jun 20 2016 // The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, in partnership with international regulatory and law enforcement agencies, said that it took action last week against 4,402 websites that illegally sell potentially dangerous,...
Opioid Prescriptions in Workers’ Compensation Cases Decline: WCRI Study
Jun 20 2016 // A new study by the Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI) found “noticeable decreases” in the amount of opioids prescribed per workers’ compensation claims in a majority of 25 states studied. The...
