Latest Drugs Headlines
All the headlines from our Drugs Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Indiana Workers’ Comp Formulary Bill Passes; Governor Urged to Sign
Mar 7 2018 // The Indiana General Assembly has passed legislation that adopts a drug formulary for the state’s workers’ compensation system. The Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI) is urging Indiana Gov....
Drugmakers Scale Back Marketing of Opioids
Mar 6 2018 // Purdue Pharma LP’s decision to stop promoting its opioid drugs to doctors is being hailed as the first result of a judge’s push for concrete solutions to a nationwide epidemic, even though the company says the...
Why Companies Are Relaxing Employee Drug Testing
Mar 6 2018 // Employers are struggling to hire workers in tightening U.S. job market. Marijuana is now legal in nine states and Washington, D.C., meaning more than one in five American adults can eat, drink, smoke or vape as they...
Louisiana AG Taking Control of State’s Opioid Lawsuit
Mar 5 2018 // Louisiana’s attorney general is taking charge of a state lawsuit against drug manufacturers, under a deal that ends a dispute with the governor’s office over who controls litigation against the companies over...
Trump Backs U.S. Lawsuit Against Opioid Firms, Tougher Penalties for Dealers
Mar 2 2018 // President Donald Trump on Thursday called for a federal lawsuit against opioid companies and stiffer penalties for drug dealers, arguing that the government must take a strong approach to combat an opioid addiction...
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...
