Marla Ahlgrimm, a Wisconsin pharmacist, and Balbir Bhogal, a Nevada pharmacologist, face charges related to allegedly supplying an illegal online drug seller with counterfeit prescription drugs. The two were arraigned on September 12, 2014, and face 10 charges, including importing and distributing controlled substances and misbranded drugs, trafficking in counterfeit drugs, mail and wire fraud, […]

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Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has published its Final Rule on Disposal of Controlled Substances, allowing some DEA registrants to modify their registration to become authorized collectors. The Final Rule implements the Secure and Responsible Drug Disposal Act of 2010, which authorized DEA to develop and implement regulations that would allow authorized entities other than law […]

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Annual rates of overdose deaths related to prescription painkillers are an average of 24.8% lower in states with medical marijuana programs, a new study indicates. The researchers also found that such programs are associated with significantly lower opioid overdose mortality rates, and that the lower rate of overdose mortality strengthened over time. The authors of […]

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From 2010 to 2013, the rate of unintentional drug overdose deaths increased by 41% in New York City, and in 2013 77% of overdose deaths involved an opioid, a new report from the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (Department) indicates. Further, the rate of overdose deaths involving opioid analgesics increased by 256% […]

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Although medications such as OxyContin®, Percocet®, and Vicodin® can help patients manage pain from surgery, injury, or chronic illness, patients need to know the risks of both prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) medications, a report in Consumer Reports warns. Almost 17,000 people per year die from overdoses of opioid drugs, and for each death, 30 people […]

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United States Attorney General Eric Holder is urging federal law enforcement agencies to “identify, train and equip personnel who may interact with a victim of a heroin overdose” to carry naloxone, a medication that can reverse an opioid overdose. In a memorandum, Holder also requests that Congress protect enforcement tools, specifically Immediate Suspension Orders, a […]

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Law enforcement agents have arrested seven Florida residents on charges related to the distribution of anabolic steroids and other performance enhancing drugs from Florida-based Biogenesis of America. The now defunct “anti-aging” clinic has been criticized for distributing the drugs to more than a dozen Major League Baseball players, according to CBS Miami. Anthony Publio Bosche, […]

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NABP welcomed domestic and international stakeholders last week for a meeting of the .Pharmacy Supporter Advisory Committee. The committee’s guidance is an important part of operationalizing the new .pharmacy generic Top-Level Domain (gTLD). Members of the committee, which is composed of representatives of domestic and international regulatory agencies and patient safety advocacy groups, as well […]

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FDA has approved Targiniq™ ER, an opioid pain reliever designed to be more resistant to abuse. The drug is an extended-release/long-acting (ER/LA) opioid analgesic for treating pain severe enough to require around-the-clock, long-term opioid treatment, and for which alternative treatment options are inadequate. Targiniq ER is the first to combine naloxone hydrochloride, an overdose reversal […]

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Intended to identify information that will help health experts respond quickly to potential outbreaks of illicit drug use and abuse, a new National Drug Early Warning System (NDEWS) is under development, announced the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). NDEWS will be designed to “scan social media and other web platforms to identify new trends” […]

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