Latest Drugs Headlines

All the headlines from our Drugs Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Montana Sues Drug Distributors Over Opioid Shipments

Feb 5 2020 // Montana has filed a lawsuit against the two leading drug distributors in the state, saying they failed to monitor and report excessive opioid shipments to Montana pharmacies, worsening the opioid epidemic.Attorney General...

Oklahoma Bill Would Eliminate Third-Party Pharmacy Benefit Managers

Jan 29 2020 // If passed, proposed legislation would have Oklahoma joining the growing number of states backing away from using Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) to administer prescription-drug programs.Sen. Paul Scott, R-Duncan, has...

Blues Health Insurers Back Venture to Lower Generic Drug Prices

Jan 27 2020 // A group of Blue Cross Blue Shield insurers is investing $55 million in a venture that aims to offer cheaper prices to their members on generic drugs that currently have little or no competition, the companies said on...

Oklahoma’s Opioid Crisis

Jan 27 2020 // With nearly 5% of Oklahoma’s population ages 12 and older abusing or misusing painkillers, the state leads the nation in non-medical use of painkillers, according to the Attorney General’s Office.The AG’s...

California Considers Declaring Common Pain Killer Carcinogen

Jan 22 2020 // A fight is coming to California over whether to list one of the world’s most common over-the-counter drugs as a carcinogen, echoing recent high-profile battles over things like alcohol and coffee.The drug is...

Judge Cuts Johnson & Johnson Damages in Risperdal Case From $8 Billion to $6.8 Million

Jan 21 2020 // A Pennsylvania judge on Friday slashed to $6.8 million from $8 billion a punitive damages award against Johnson & Johnson to a man who said it failed to warn that boys using its antipsychotic drug Risperdal could grow...

Reuters Report: How Secrecy in Courts Stymies Safety Regulators

Jan 17 2020 // LEBANON, Ohio — Something wasn’t right with the Rhino.Reports started trickling in to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) in 2005 of people being killed or injured in the Yamaha Motor Co. off-road...

Oklahoma AG Sues 3 Opioid Distributors

Jan 14 2020 // Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter on Jan. 13 brought a lawsuit against three distributors of opioids after winning a lawsuit against one drug manufacturer and reaching pretrial settlements in other cases.Hunter filed...

In Ohio Suit, Pharmacies Say Prescribers Bear Responsibility for Opioid Crisis

Jan 9 2020 // Doctors and other healthcare practitioners who write prescriptions bear ultimate responsibility for improper distribution of opioids to patients, not pharmacists who are obliged to fill those prescriptions, a series of...

Commentary: Are You Ready, Nevada? Nine New Laws for the New Year

Jan 3 2020 // Don’t let hindsight be 2020. While others are enjoying the holidays and a well-deserved break, Nevada businesses should “check their lists twice” to make sure they are compliant with a host of new laws...

America Is Still Waiting for Trump’s ‘Much Better’ Replacement for Obamacare

Jan 3 2020 // As a candidate for the White House, Donald Trump repeatedly promised that he would “immediately” replace President Barack Obama’s health care law with a plan of his own that would provide “insurance...

Drugmakers Begin New Year by Raising Prices

Jan 2 2020 // Drugmakers including Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., Gilead Sciences Inc., and Biogen Inc. hiked U.S. list prices on more than 50 drugs on Wednesday, bringing total New Year’s Day drug price increases to more than 250,...

Puff, Puff, Passed: 2019 Marijuana Laws in Review and 2020 Projections

Dec 31 2019 // With 2019 nearly rolled up, it is time to exhale and recap the latest dose of marijuana laws affecting the workplace. In the last twelve months, Illinois became the eleventh state to legalize recreational marijuana use by...

Opioid Distributors Sued by Michigan AG Under Drug Dealer Law

Dec 19 2019 // Michigan on Dec. 17 sued four companies over the deadly painkiller epidemic, becoming what state Attorney General Dana Nessel said is the first state to sue major opioid distributors under a liability law that is typically...

Industry Balks at Trump Rule to Let States Import Drugs from Canada

Dec 19 2019 // The Trump administration on Wednesday said it is proposing a rule to allow states to import prescription drugs from Canada, advancing a plan announced in July that the president has said will bring cheaper prescription...

Government Spending Bill Includes Flood, TRIA Renewals and Obamacare Taxes Repeal

Dec 17 2019 // Congress is planning to use a $1.4 trillion package of two must-pass spending bills to repeal Obamacare taxes, raise the age for tobacco purchases to 21 and extend the U.S. Export-Import Bank for seven years, according to...

Democrats Pass Bill to Lower Prescription Drug Prices for Seniors

Dec 13 2019 // The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday approved legislation aimed at driving down the prices that seniors pay for prescription drugs, but the bill’s future is clouded by President Donald Trump’s threat...

FDA Moving Quickly to Approve New Drugs. Is It Too Quickly?

Dec 11 2019 // The U.S. is approving new drugs so fast that companies are now preparing for a green light months in advance of the scheduled decision date, a pace that’s helping patients with rare or untreatable diseases but...

N.J. Man Sentenced to 150 Months in Prison for Insurance Fraud, Drug Distribution

Nov 18 2019 // An Atlantic City, N.J., man was sentenced to 150 months in prison for selling more than 200 grams of crystal methamphetamine and for staging a fake robbery of a Union County, N.J., pawnshop for the purpose of perpetrating...

Science, Enforcement Lag as Car Accidents, Claims Rise in Legal Cannabis States

Nov 18 2019 // Car crashes in the first three states to legalize recreational marijuana have soared as law enforcement and regulators struggle to define driving high, let alone determine how to fight it.Colorado, Oregon, and Washington...