Pharmacy Updates
Michigan Board of Pharmacy Sued Over Marijuana Schedule I Status
Earlier this week, longtime marijuana advocate John Sinclair, and others, including a physician, a pharmacist, a medical marijuana patient and the Michigan Medical Marijuana Association, sued the Michigan Board of Pharmacy (Michigan Board) seeking to declassify marijuana as a Schedule I controlled substance in Michigan. The Michigan Board has the power to schedule, re-schedule or…
Read MoreNew Prescription Law in California Causing Problems
According to the California Department of Public Health, about 2,000 Californians die annually from opioid overdoses. To address the opioid crisis, California, like many other states across the nation, continue to enact new laws that address the prescribing of opioid medications. On January 1, 2019, Assembly Bill (AB) 1753 took effect. AB 1753, in short, requires: (1)…
Read MoreFDA Approves Potent New Opioid Sulfentanil Despite Abuse Warnings
Yesterday, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the drug Dsuvia (Sulfentanil – sublingual 30mcg tablet), a potent synthetic opioid, for the management of acute pain severe enough to require an opioid analgesic for adult patients in certified medically supervised healthcare settings such as hospitals, surgical centers and emergency departments. Intravenous Sulfentanil has been used…
Read MoreEmpowering Pharmacists in the Fight Against Opioid Abuse Act
Yesterday, President Trump signed into law the “Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment for Patients and Communities Act, or, for short, the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act. Chapter 2 of the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act empowers pharmacists in the fight against opioid abuse and is appropriately titled as such:…
Read MoreSUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act
Yesterday, on the one-year anniversary of declaring a national opioid public health emergency, President Trump signed into law the “Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recover and Treatment for Patients and Communities Act,” also known as the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act. The law is expected to reduce access to and the supply of…
Read MoreEpidiolex (Cannabidiol) is a Schedule V Controlled Substance
Yesterday, the Drug Enforcement Administration announced that Epidiolex, which contains cannabidiol (CBD), a chemical constituent of the cannabis or marijuana plant is a Schedule V Controlled Substance, which is the least restrictive schedule of the Controlled Substance Act. In June 2018, the Food and Drug Administration announced it approved Epidiolex (cannabidiol), for the treatment of…
Read MoreFDA and Responsible Opioid Prescribing for Pain Management in Animals
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) continues to address the opioid epidemic on all fronts with regards to prescribing opioids in humans. But, last month, the FDA introduced a new resource containing information and recommendations specifically for veterinarians who stock and administer opioids. The FDA recommends veterinarians take the following steps if they stock and…
Read MoreOpioid Crisis Response Act Passed By Senate
Yesterday, the US Senate passed an opioid bill – The Opioid Crisis Response Act – that addresses illicit fentanyl trafficking via the mail system, drug diversion in opioid manufacturing quotas and aims to improve access to addiction treatment via telemedicine. The ‘STOP Act’, drafted by Ohio Senator Rob Portman, addresses the illegal importation of illicit fentanyl…
Read MoreFDA’s Efforts to Advance Antimicrobial Stewardship in Veterinary Settings
Antimicrobial drugs, when used correctly, fight infections, but when antimicrobials are overused or misused, they promote antimicrobial resistant bacteria. Efforts at implementing good antimicrobial stewardship practices have been a mainstay in human healthcare for years and remains a top priority of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). However, over the passed few years the FDA…
Read MoreOK Board of Health Votes to Ban Sales of Smokeable Marijuana
Earlier this week, Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin signed the emergency rules on a medical marijuana program that was approved by the Oklahoma Board of Health two weeks after Oklahomans voted to approve legalizing medical marijuana. Part of these rules included: Banning sales smokeable forms of medical marijuana from sale in dispensaries (i.e. flowers and leaves),…
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