Latest Drugs Headlines

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

Growing Number of Municipal Suits Over Opioids Face Uphill Battle

Jun 19 2017 // A growing number of U.S. states, counties and cities are filing lawsuits accusing drug companies of deceptively marketing opioid painkillers to downplay their addictiveness. But some lawyers say the industry’s highly...

Louisiana Tightens Rules to Prevent ‘Doctor Shopping’ for Opioid Drugs

Jun 19 2017 // Louisiana lawmakers have ordered physicians to consult a statewide prescription monitoring program before prescribing opioid drugs. The Senate approved minor changes the House had made to Sen. Fred Mills’ bill and...

Cardinal Health Seeks Dismissal of Drug Suits in 6 West Virginia Counties

Jun 16 2017 // A pharmaceuticals distributor has asked a federal judge to dismiss lawsuits filed by six West Virginia counties over the opioid crisis, arguing that they were filed too late and the matter was already addressed in a state...

Bills Meant to Curb Opioid Abuse in Louisiana Signed by Governor

Jun 14 2017 // Obtaining prescriptions for highly addictive opioid drugs in Louisiana will soon be more difficult under bills signed into law on June 12 by Gov. John Bel Edwards, who is hoping to turn the state into a leader in battling...

States Study Tobacco Lawsuit Tactics for Fight Over Opioid Costs

Jun 14 2017 // State and local leaders fighting a worsening opioid abuse epidemic are studying tactics used in the tobacco lawsuits of the 1990s, as they try to claw back billions from the companies who make and sell the powerful...

Companies Seek Dismissal of Oklahoma Tribe’s Prescription-Drug Suit

Jun 12 2017 // Walmart and other major corporations are asking a federal court to dismiss a lawsuit filed against them by the Cherokee Nation, which argues that the companies have not done enough to stop prescription opioid abuse. The...

FDA Seeks to Halt Sales of Opioid Painkiller Opana ER for Public Health Reasons

Jun 9 2017 // As the United States battles a growing opioid abuse crisis, the Food and Drug Administration on Thursday asked Endo International Plc to withdraw from the market its long-lasting opioid painkiller, Opana ER, sending...

Louisiana Adds Hurdles to Prevent ‘Doctor Shopping’ for Opioid Drugs

Jun 5 2017 // Hoping to stop people from “doctor shopping” for highly addictive painkillers, Louisiana lawmakers have ordered physicians to consult a statewide prescription monitoring program before prescribing opioid...

U.S. Appeals Court Upholds Dismissal of Zoloft Lawsuits Against Pfizer

Jun 5 2017 // The Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia upheld a lower court’s dismissal last year of more than 300 product liability suits against drug maker Pfizer over its antidepressant Zoloft.The lawsuits...

Texas Workers’ Comp Research Group to Complete Report Card, Study Compound Drugs

Jun 5 2017 // The Texas Workers’ Compensation Research and Evaluation Group has released its 2017 research agenda, a blueprint for its efforts to provide critical data for decision-makers in the Texas workers’ compensation...

Growing Number of Municipal Suits Over Opioids Face Uphill Battle

Jun 2 2017 // A growing number of U.S. states, counties and cities are filing lawsuits accusing drug companies of deceptively marketing opioid painkillers to downplay their addictiveness, but some lawyers say the industry’s highly...

Bill Creating Workers’ Comp Drug Formulary Advances in Louisiana

Jun 1 2017 // A bill establishing a workers’ compensation closed drug formulary in Louisiana passed the House and has been referred to the Senate Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations.A legislative analysis of House Bill 592...

Ohio AG DeWine Sues 5 Drug Companies Over Opioid Crisis

May 31 2017 // The state of Ohio on May 30 sued five major drug manufacturers, accusing them of misrepresenting the risks of prescription opioid painkillers that have fueled a sky-rocketing drug addiction epidemic.The suit, filed by...

Motorist Deaths by South Carolina Police Trigger Costly Settlements

May 31 2017 // Police forces in South Carolina have reached several high-dollar settlements in cases where officers have shot and killed drivers and others in moving vehicles in the past several years. Here are some of the most expensive...

Alabama ‘Pill Mill’ Doctor Gets 21 Years in Prison

May 31 2017 // An Alabama doctor was sentenced on Friday to 21 years in prison for running two clinics with a colleague that prosecutors called a massive “pill mill,” in a case tied to the U.S. probe of Insys Therapeutics...

Patients on Opioids Before Knee Surgery Have Worse Pain Outcomes

May 23 2017 // Six months after knee replacement surgery, pain outcomes were not as good for patients who previously took prescription opioids, according to a study in the May 17 issue of The Journal of Bone & Joint...

Bipartisan Senators Look to Address Banking Risk for Marijuana Industry

May 18 2017 // Republican and Democratic senators on Wednesday renewed their drive to make banking easier for marijuana-based businesses in those U.S. states where the drug is legal, undeterred by signals from the Trump administration...

New York County Sues Purdue, J&J Over Opioid Marketing

May 18 2017 // A county in New York state has sued Purdue Pharma LP, Johnson & Johnson and other drugmakers, accusing them of engaging in fraudulent marketing that played down the risks of prescription opioid painkillers, leading to...

Drug Use at Work at Highest Rate in 12 Years: Quest

May 17 2017 // Drug use in the American workforce, fueled by illicit drugs including cocaine, reached the highest positivity rate in 12 years last year, according to an analysis of more than 10 million workforce drug test results.Overall...

Louisiana Bill to Limit Opioids for Injured Workers Passes Committee

May 15 2017 // Hoping to prevent fatal overdoses, a House committee passed a bill to make it harder for injured Louisiana workers to access highly-addictive opioid drugs.Lawmakers voted 8-5 on May 11 to have prescribers consult a...