Latest Drugs Headlines

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

West Virginia Pharmacies Owner Fined In Prescription Probe

Jul 1 2021 // The owner of two West Virginia pharmacies has agreed to pay $300,000 in civil penalties to settle allegations that they filled illegitimate prescriptions in violation of federal law. Federal prosecutors said Beckley...

Ruling Limits Safety-Based Drug Testing at Iowa Warehouses

Jun 30 2021 // The Iowa Supreme Court has ruled that employers cannot subject all warehouse employees to random drug testing by designating them as having “safety sensitive” jobs.In its 4-3 ruling, the court ruled that...

Drug Industry Faces First High-Stakes Opioid Jury Trial

Jun 29 2021 // Jurors on New York’s Long Island are set to determine whether a group of opioid makers and drug distributors created a public health crisis and should pay for it, in a bellwether trial for lawsuits filed by...

High Court Ruling Limits Safety-Based Drug Testing at Iowa Warehouses

Jun 27 2021 // The Iowa Supreme Court ruled on June 25 that employers cannot subject all warehouse employees to random drug testing by designating them as having “safety sensitive” jobs.In its 4-3 ruling, the court ruled that...

U.S. Drug Enforcer Testimony Cites ‘Systemic Failure’ in Monitoring by Opioid Distributors

Jun 11 2021 // A retired high-ranking official with the Drug Enforcement Administration has testified that three large opioid distributors had a “systematic failure” in monitoring suspicious pill orders.Joe Rannazzisi, former...

Amazon.com Offers Prescriptions Starting at $6; Considers Physical Locations

Jun 9 2021 // Amazon.com Inc. said on Tuesday it was now offering six-month prescriptions starting at $6 for medications of common health issues through its pharmacy.The company said prime members would get additional savings when...

2 Arkansas Docs Sentenced to Federal Prison for Prescription Fraud

Jun 8 2021 // Two Arkansas physicians were sentenced in late May to a combined 150 months in federal prison for distributing pain medicines without a prescription.Cecil. W. Gaby, 71, of Fort Smith, and Robin Ann Cox, 64, of Rogers, were...

$6.4 Billion Suit Claims Bristol-Myers Delayed Cancer Drug to Avoid Shareholder Payment

Jun 4 2021 // Bristol Myers Squibb Co. was sued for $6.4 billion on Thursday for allegedly delaying its Breyanzi cancer drug to avoid payments to shareholders of the former Celgene Corp., which the drugmaker bought in 2019.According to...

Biden Backs States Against Manufacturers Over Prescription Drug Imports From Canada

Jun 1 2021 // The Biden administration is urging a federal court to dismiss a lawsuit that could stand in the way of states like Florida in allowing prescription drugs to be imported from Canada.In a legal brief filed Friday, the White...

Study Shows How Recreational Cannabis Legalization May Change Illegal Drug Markets

May 20 2021 // A study published in the scientific journal Addiction provides evidence of the association between recreational cannabis laws in U.S. states and responses in the illegal markets for cannabis, heroin and other drugs.The...

Data Expert: Distributors Increased Drug Potency in West Virginia

May 14 2021 // A data expert testifying at a landmark opioid trial in West Virginia said Tuesday that the potency of prescription drugs sent to local communities increased over time, but the three large drug distributors being sued tried...

If Covid-19 Vaccine Patents Are Waived, Legal Options For Drug Firms Are Limited

May 7 2021 // A potential World Trade Organization waiver of patent and trade secret protections for Covid-19 vaccines would leave pharmaceutical companies with limited legal avenues to recover costs.The U.S. on Wednesday expressed...

Mental Health Drug Prescriptions on the Rise

Apr 22 2021 // The number of Americans taking mental health prescription medication is up 6.4% in the last year, which means that 65 million people (1 in 5) are now prescribed medication to help them cope with stress, anxiety or...

Viewpoint: Psychedelic Drugs to Treat Pain in Workers’ Compensation Cases?

Apr 6 2021 // Medical science has moved forward by leaps and bounds in recent years, and yet for too many injured workers, their initial work-related injury and subsequent medical treatment is only the start of an all-too-familiar...

Report: Drug Addiction Cost West Virginia an Estimated $11B in 2019

Apr 5 2021 // Treating and addressing drug addiction cost West Virginia an estimated $11.3 billion in one year, according to a new report from the Center on Budget and Policy.The report, written by economist Jill Kriesky, says the state...

Michigan’s McLaren to Pay $7.7M to Resolve Alleged Drug Violations

Jan 21 2021 // McLaren Health Care Corp. has agreed to pay the federal government more than $7.7 million to resolve alleged violations of provisions of the Controlled Substances Act.The civil settlement was announced by the U.S....

Drug Firms Win Court Bid Halting White House Rule Aimed at Lowering Drug Prices

Dec 28 2020 // A late-term maneuver by President Donald Trump to use lower drug prices paid overseas to limit some of Medicare’s own costs suffered a legal setback last Wednesday that appears likely to keep the policy from taking...

Walmart Denies U.S. Charges It Fueled Opioid Crisis by Filling ‘Illegitimate Prescriptions’

Dec 23 2020 // The U.S. Justice Department sued Walmart Inc. on Tuesday, accusing the world’s biggest retailer of fueling the opioid crisis in the United States, ignoring warning signs from its pharmacists and filling thousands of...

Babies Born Addicted to Opioids Can Sue Drug Makers: Tennessee High Court

Dec 22 2020 // The Tennessee Supreme Court has ruled that opioid producers can be sued under the state’s Drug Dealer Liability Act, allowing a lawsuit filed on behalf of children born dependent to opioids to move forward.The high...

Washington Drug Chain Settles over Invalid Prescriptions

Dec 21 2020 // The U.S. Department of Justice says it and Bartell Drugs have resolved allegations that the pharmacy chain filled invalid prescriptions between July 2016 and August 2020 in violation of the Controlled Substances Act.U.S....