Comment on this storyComment Morris & Dickson, one of the nation’s largest drug distributors, was sued Thursday over claims it fueled a devastating addiction crisis within the Cherokee Nation by failing to stop suspicious shipments of millions of painkillers to a small number of Oklahoma pharmacies. The malpractice lawsuit was filed by the tribe in Oklahoma state court nearly two weeks after the Drug Enforcement Administration, in a separate matter, announced it would strike the company’s ability to distribute controlled substances unless Morris & Dickson fails to reach a settlement…
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Governments get nearly $19 billion more in opioid legal deals
Comment on this storyComment State and local governments to receive an additional $18.75 billion from drug chains and drug makers to settle lawsuits over their role in flooding the country with pain relief money intended to help communities still grappling with an unparalleled addiction and overdose crisis, lawyers announced Friday. The settlements must be paid for by drugmakers Allergan and Teva, as well as CVS and Walgreens. The deals also include Walmart, which is expected to finalize its deal soon. The deals emerge more than a year after pharmaceutical company…
Read MoreKratom linked to outsized proarrhythmic risks
Over-the-counter agents used improperly to curb opioid withdrawal or induce high-dose euphoria were linked to a disproportionate number of lethal arrhythmias reported to national pharmacovigilance systems, the researchers found. The antidiarrheal drug loperamide, a weak synthetic opioid, was significantly associated with ventricular arrhythmia (proportional reporting ratio [PRR] 3.2, 95% CI 3.0-3.4), with 37% of 1,008 FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) reports involving death. The arrhythmic signal was worse — a PRR of 8.9 (95% CI 6.7-11.7) — for mitragynine, the main active ingredient in the herbal supplement kratom. Fully…
Read MoreWhat drugs have replaced opioid painkillers? The answers may surprise you
If you go to the doctor complaining of pain, don’t be surprised if your doctor prescribes anti-epileptic drugs, or an antidepressant, or even plain old Tylenol or ibuprofen. As healthcare providers move away from addictive opioid painkillers, other classes of drugs with pain-relieving properties are filling the gap. A Buffalo News review of nearly 10 years of prescription painkillers among Medicaid patients highlights evolving trends. Prior to 2016, narcotic pain relievers were the leading type of prescription pain reliever by far compared to any other type of prescription drug, according…
Read MoreTribal nations in the United States provide publicly funded opioid treatment to those who need it most
Open this photo in the gallery: Brent Simcosky, director of health services for the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe, looks on from the Jamestown Healing Clinic on Washington state’s Olympic Peninsula May 24.Nathan Vanderklippe/The Globe and Mail A man-made stream trickles a tinkling chatter past the banks of freshly embellished plants to the exposed beams and huge glass windows that make up the Jamestown Healing Clinic. It could be a resort, set in a sunny lot on the outskirts of town, its soaring lobby decorated with open-air scenes of Washington state’s rugged…
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