Latest Drugs Headlines
All the headlines from our Drugs Topic Page, ordered by recency.
OxyContin Makers to Settle Lawsuit with Kentucky for $24 Million
Dec 29 2015 // The maker of OxyContin will pay Kentucky $24 million over the next eight years as part of the settlement of a long-running lawsuit that accused the company of misleading the public about the addictiveness of the powerful...
Study: Florida’s Crackdown on ‘Pill Mills’ Linked to Fewer Painkiller Overdose Deaths
Dec 22 2015 // A crackdown on Florida’s “pill mills” – clinics dispensing large quantities of prescription painkillers often for cash-only and without proper medical examinations – appears to have dramatically...
Minnesota to Allow Chronic Pain Patients to Use Medical Marijuana
Dec 21 2015 // Minnesota health officials say they will allow residents with chronic pain to buy medical marijuana starting in August. Minnesota will be the 19th state where medical marijuana is legal to extend the drug to people with...
Survey: 80% of Employers Impacted by Prescription Drug Abuse
Dec 21 2015 // A recently released survey of Indiana employers shows that 80 percent have been impacted by prescription drug misuse and abuse, including opioid painkillers, in their workplaces, the state attorney general’s office...
West Virginia Hospital Association Releases Guidelines to Reduce Opioid Drug Abuse
Dec 18 2015 // The West Virginia Hospital Association Board of Trustees has endorsed a set of guidelines to help West Virginia’s hospitals reduce the misuse of opioid prescription drugs. Director of Communications Tina Rymer said...
Survey: Prescription Drug Abuse Affecting Indiana Companies
Dec 8 2015 // The majority of Indiana companies that responded to a survey tied to the state’s growing woes with prescription medication abuse say their businesses are being affected by workplace abuse or misuse of those drugs,...
Minnesota to Allow Chronic Pain Patients to Use Medical Marijuana
Dec 3 2015 // Minnesota health officials will allow residents with chronic pain to buy medical marijuana starting in August, they announced on Dec. 2 in a long-awaited decision that could expand enrollment in the state’s...
Smooth Sailing for Most California Workers’ Comp Cases, Drugs a Problem
Dec 2 2015 // More than eight-in-10 workers’ compensation cases in California were taken care of without a hitch, and an overwhelming majority of those cases sent to review were ultimately upheld, according to a new study...
Analysis: North Carolina Studying Drug Formularies in Workers’ Comp Claims
Nov 19 2015 // During the 2015 legislative session, the North Carolina General Assembly authorized and funded a study regarding prescription drug formularies in workers’ compensation claims brought by state employees. While this...
Battle Over Legalizing Marijuana Taking Shape in New Jersey
Nov 18 2015 // New Jersey’s Democratic-controlled Legislature took a step toward a showdown with Gov. Chris Christie over legalized marijuana on Monday. A state Senate panel convened a hearing on legalizing the drug, and a leading...
New Hampshire Lawmakers Expected to Create Drug-Focused Task Force
Nov 17 2015 // New Hampshire state lawmakers are expected to create a task force aimed at tackling New Hampshire’s substance abuse crisis when they return to Concord, New Hampshire, on Wednesday for a special session. If all goes...
Trucker in Fatal Oklahoma Crash Had History of Synthetic Drug Use
Nov 17 2015 // The truck that killed four members of a college women’s softball team in Oklahoma last year was driven by a Texas man with a history of using synthetic marijuana, U.S. safety investigators found. Russell Staley...
N.H. GOP Leaders Say Substance Abuse Proposals Need More Work
Nov 13 2015 // New Hampshire’s Republican lawmakers said they would rather create a legislative task force during a special session planned for next week to study some of Gov. Maggie Hassan’s proposals to combat the...
U.S. Health Care Cost Increases at Lowest Rate in Nearly 20 years: Aon
Nov 12 2015 // After plan design changes and vendor negotiations, the average health care rate increase for mid-size and large companies was 3.2 percent in 2015, marking the lowest rate increase since 1996, according to a new analysis by...
West Virginia Official Says Miner Drug Abuse Rising
Nov 3 2015 // The director of West Virginia’s mine safety office says there is a growing substance abuse problem among miners. Director Eugene White of the Office of Mine Health, Safety and Training told legislators last month...
Multi-County Mississippi Prescription Drug Fraud Sting Leads to 8 Arrests
Oct 22 2015 // An investigation by several Mississippi police agencies has led to multiple arrests in an alleged multi-county prescription drug forgery ring and the discovery of a suspected human trafficking victim. The Clarion-Ledger...
For Vermont Police, Checking for Pot-Impaired Drivers Is Work in Progress
Oct 21 2015 // It’s common knowledge that driving with blood alcohol content higher than .08 violates the law. But with marijuana, things are a lot more hazy. As Vermont and other states consider following the lead of Colorado and...
Prescription Drug Overdose Deaths Fall 5% in Oklahoma
Oct 20 2015 // The number of Oklahoma residents dying from unintentional prescription drug overdose dropped last year. The Oklahoman reports the state saw a 5 percent decrease in such deaths from the previous year. Preliminary data from...
Report: West Virginia Leads U.S. in Prescription Drug Overdoses
Oct 19 2015 // Nearly 2,900 West Virginians have overdosed on prescription painkillers or heroin over the past five years, according to the state Health Statistics Center. The center also said overdose deaths last year were the highest...
J&J Win in First Trial Against Tylenol Skirts Defective Design Claim
Oct 19 2015 // Johnson & Johnson defeated a lawsuit claiming it had improperly designed its Tylenol pain reliever in the first case to go to trial over the link between the widely used over-the-counter drug and liver damage,...
