Drug Enforcement Administration News

Injured Workers Pharmacy to Pay $10M for Improper Handling of ‘Red Flag’ Prescriptions

Andover, Massachusetts-based Injured Workers Pharmacy (IWP) has agreed to pay $10 million to resolve allegations that it violated the Controlled Substances Act by improperly filling prescriptions for controlled substances, including opioids, and submitting false claims for payment to the Department …

DEA Failed to Punish Distributor Blamed in Opioid Crisis

SHREVEPORT, La. (AP) — The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has allowed one of the nation’s largest wholesale drug distributors to keep shipping highly addictive painkillers for nearly four years after a judge recommended it be stripped of its license for …

Opioid Trial Against CVS, Walgreens, Walmart Winding Down

CLEVELAND (AP) — Three retail pharmacy chains failed to follow government guidelines to make sure pain pills weren’t flooding Ohio communities, said an attorney for two counties that brought a federal lawsuit to hold the companies accountable for the opioid …

U.S. Justice Department Backs Extending Ban on Fentanyl Copycats

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Justice Department has signaled support for legislation to extend by seven months a ban on illegal copycat versions of fentanyl, the powerful synthetic painkiller that has helped fuel the nation’s opioid epidemic. Without action from Congress, …

U.S. Sues Walmart Saying Pharmacies Fueled Opioid Crisis

WASHINGTON — 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 invalid prescriptions. In a civil …

Purdue Sackler Opioids Trial Boston Latest Updates

Massachusetts took Purdue Pharma LP to task in a Boston courtroom Friday, blaming the opioid maker and the billionaire Sackler family that owns it for causing “thousands of people to suffer and many to die.” The state has proof Purdue …

US Appeals Court Says Judge Went Too Far on Drug Data Order

CINCINNATI — A federal appeals court ruled Thursday that a judge went too far in blocking release of federal data about how prescription opioids were distributed. A 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals three-judge panel on Thursday vacated an order …

McKesson to Pay $37 Million to Resolve West Virginia Opioid Lawsuit

Drug distributor McKesson Corp has agreed to pay $37 million to resolve a lawsuit by the state of West Virginia seeking to hold it responsible for contributing to the opioid epidemic, the state’s attorney general said on Thursday. The settlement …

Vermont Sues 2 Prescription Opioid Distributors

BURLINGTON, Vt. — Vermont filed a lawsuit Tuesday against two pharmaceutical distributors, accusing them of selling ever-increasing amounts of prescription opioids in the state while failing to effectively monitor and control the sales and acknowledge the quantity of pills was …