As opioid addiction continues to ravage large swaths of the country, doctors are being urged to prescribe fewer narcotic painkillers, putting pressure on drug companies to come up with new ways to treat pain patients. [More]
drugs
As Opioid Hospitalizations Soar, Report Claims Imprisoning Drug Offenders Doesn’t Affect Overdoses Or Use
By 6.20.17
Since 2005, the rate of opioid-related emergency room visits has doubled and hospitalizations are up 64%. At the same time, many states are sending more people to prison for drug-related offenses. However, a new analysis contends that there is no apparent link between drug imprisonments and reining in the problems associated with the ongoing epidemic. [More]
Police Catch Suspects Trying, Failing To Cram $1M In Meth-Laced Candy Into Car
By 6.14.17
When Houston police showed up to investigate a report of a home burglary, they likely weren’t expecting to find two people attempting to flee the scene in a car overstuffed with 600 pounds of methamphetamine-laced lollipops. [More]
FDA Requests Opioid Painkiller Be Removed From The Market, Citing Abuse Risks, HIV Outbreak
By 6.8.17
The Food and Drug Administration has asked Endo Pharmaceuticals, the manufacturer of Opana ER, an extended-release semi-synthetic opioid painkiller, to remove the drug from the market, after the agency concluded that the drug’s potential for abuse outweighed its therapeutic value. [More]
42 States And D.C. Settle With Johnson & Johnson Over Adulterated OTC Drugs
By 5.24.17
You might remember multiple recalls of over-the-counter medications from McNeil Consumer Healthcare, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, at the beginning of this decade. These included adult and children’s versions of common drugs like Tylenol, Motrin, Zyrtec, and Benadryl. After settling criminal charges, now the company has now settled allegations that it marketed these products deceptively when claiming that it followed good manufacturing processes. [More]
Vermont Gov. Vetoes Bill Legalizing Recreational Marijuana, Sends It Back For Some Changes
By 5.24.17
Vermont residents will have to put off their dream of lighting up a legal joint for a bit longer after the state’s governor vetoed a bill legalizing small amounts recreational marijuana, and instead sent it back to legislators for some revisions. [More]
Diabetes Drug Invokana Must Warn Patients About Increased Risk Of Foot, Leg Amputation
By 5.17.17 — Updated: 5.19.17
A new class of diabetes medicines is heavily advertised on TV and shows great promise in getting patients’ blood sugar levels down, but a safety announcement from the Food and Drug Administration warns that one of the drugs, Johnson & Johnson’s Invokana, doubles those patients’ chance of needing parts of their legs or feet amputated. [More]
Amazon Also Wants To Sell You (Prescription) Drugs
By 5.17.17
When Amazon executives look around their virtual store, we imagine they must be tapping their chins and thinking, “Hmm, what else do people want?” The company already sells everything from books to riding mowers, and now, it’s reportedly getting very serious about the idea of expanding into the pharmacy business. [More]
Medical Marijuana Industry Uneasy About Its Future Under Trump Administration
By 5.15.17
Despite the fact that Congress recently passed a new spending bill that included a provision prohibiting the Department of Justice and Drug Enforcement Agency from interfering in states’ medical marijuana programs, the industry remains wary of President Trump’s administration and its stance on the drug. [More]
7 Things We Learned About The Thriving American Heroin Industry
By 5.12.17
The market for heroin is a robust one, and 2017 is shaping up to be the best year yet for the gangs and cartels who import and distribute the drug in the United States. The drug is now both inexpensive to make and more addictive, but this more potent heroin is also killing its users. [More]
Mom Says GameStop Sold Her A Used Copy Of Grand Theft Auto With Meth Inside
By 5.11.17
Grand Theft Auto is supposed to give players a taste of the underworld, but one mother says that the used copy that she bought for her son at GameStop went a little too far, with a small bag of methamphetamine inside the case. Now she’s warning other parents to check used video games for things that don’t belong in the cases. [More]
New Safety Risks Found In 1-In-3 Drugs After FDA Approval
By 5.10.17
No one wants patients to have to wait longer for access to potentially lifesaving new drugs, and the newly approved head of the Food and Drug Administration has made it clear that he intends to speed up current approval processes when possible. However, a new study says safety risks were found in around one-third of all new FDA-approved medications after they had been okayed for use by the agency. [More]
Lawsuit: EpiPen Price Hikes Were Intended To Keep Competitor Out Of Pharmacies
By 4.26.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
Competition is supposed to keep prices down, so why did the cost of emergency allergy treatment EpiPen continue to soar after the introduction of a competing product? Because, according to a new lawsuit, most of that added money was going to intermediaries who could make sure that EpiPen remained the preferred (and sometimes only) drug of its kind on insurance plans. [More]
Man Assumed He Could Grow Marijuana Because He “Thought It Would Be Legal Soon”
By 4.26.17
Sure, some bartenders might serve you a beer a few hours before your official 21st birthday, but that’s a far cry from growing 40 marijuana plants under the assumption that your state is going to legalize pot at some point in the near future. [More]
Governors Ask Attorney General To Leave Their Legal Marijuana Alone
By 4.4.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
While federal lawmakers from both sides of the aisle are pushing for legislation to reform marijuana laws, the executive branch of the government has given every indication of a coming crackdown on recreational marijuana, even in states where it’s now legal. The governors of the first four states to legalize pot are now asking the White House to respect their states’ voters and not return weed to the dark ages. [More]
Slew Of New Bills Aim To Reform Marijuana Laws At Federal Level
By 3.30.17
While the Trump Administration has hinted at a coming crackdown on non-medical use of marijuana, federal legislators continue to introduce new bills — some with bipartisan support — intended to further legitimize the cannabis industry. [More]
6 Easy Ways To Get Rid Of Unused Medication
By 3.20.17
Today is National Clean Out Your Medicine Cabinet Day, and chances are you haven’t given much thought to the unused medications taking up space in your medicine cabinet. [More]
Evanger’s Expands Recall Of Dog Food That Could Contain Euthanasia Drugs
By 3.3.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
Earlier this year, products from high-end dog food brands Evanger’s and Against the Grain were recalled earlier this year for a surprising reason: Cans from that batch were found to be contaminated with pentobarbital, a drug used for euthanasia mostly of dogs, cats, and horses. The source of the drug still hasn’t been discovered, and now Evanger’s has quietly added another variety of dog food to the recall. [More]
