Tag: Prescription Drugs

Co-Founder of AbleChild Sheila Matthews Details Work on Tennessee Bill to Help Determine Link Between Psychotropic Drugs and Mass Shooters

Kaitlin Housler
Sheila Matthews

Sheila Matthews, co-founder of the national non-profit parent organization AbleChild, detailed her work on crafting an “outstanding” bill recently filed in the Tennessee General Assembly that is focused on reforming the process medical examiner’s offices must follow in terms of testing for psychotropic drugs when performing autopsies on the bodies of mass shooters.

HB 2933, if enacted, would require a medical examiner’s office or regional forensic center to determine and document current both psychotropic and prescription drug use from the past 10 years by a deceased individual who died under “suspicious, unusual, or unnatural circumstances.”

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People in Florida Will Soon Be Able to Buy Drugs from Canada

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Pharmacist

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Florida’s request to import cheap prescription drugs from Canada on Friday.

Policymakers across the political spectrum have long sought to import drugs from Canada, where drug prices are lower, and Florida’s authorization makes it the first state to import drugs in bulk from America’s northern neighbor. Florida estimates that it may save as much as $150 million on drugs treating things like diabetes, hepatitis C and certain psychiatric conditions.

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Tennessee Officials Encourage Residents to Participate in Prescription Drug Take Back Day

Peter D'Abrosca

The Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (TDMHSAS) is urging  Tennesseeans to get rid of their unneeded prescription medications later this week. 

“Whether it’s a recent surgery, dental procedure, or clearing out a home after the death of a loved one, there are so many situations where people have mass quantities of medications just sitting around.  Safe and secure disposal through Take Back Day events is just about the easiest way we all can have an impact on substance use and addiction in our communities,” said TDMHSAS Commissioner Marie Williams, LCSW. “And with deadly doses of illicit fentanyl being pressed into counterfeit pills, there’s never been a more important time to take back your medications so that young people never begin experimenting with medications they find in the home.”

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Gov. Ron DeSantis Issues Executive Order Designed to Lower Costs of Prescription Drugs

Steve Stewart

On Friday, Governor Ron DeSantis issued an Executive Order (22-164) focused on lowering the costs of prescription drugs for Floridians by promoting transparency. The order will ensure reforms are in place to hold Pharmacy Benefits Managers (PBMs) accountable when managing prescription drug benefits for insurance companies. PBMs are third-party administrators of prescription drug programs.

Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the executive order at a press conference at Cape Coral High School.

“This executive order is really probably the first time Florida as a state has taken action to ensure that we’re saving money for Floridians regarding the middlemen and what happens with the prescription drug programs,” DeSantis said. “I think it’s going to be very, very meaningful.”

“For far too long leaders have chosen the path of inaction, rather than action, and fallen victim to a pharmaceutical system driven by drug companies rather than consumers,” said Agency for Health Care Administration Secretary Simone Marstiller. “Fortunately, Governor DeSantis leads with principle, always putting Floridians first and today’s actions will further this commitment by providing insight into the FDA’s review process and all agency health care contracts through the end of the decade.”

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Judge Removed After Allegedly Calling Colleague Names, Making Employee Take Diet Pills, Using Fake Facebook Accounts to Threaten Litigants

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Jefferson County, Alabama, Judge Nakita Blocton was removed from her job after numerous accusations of abuse against employees, colleagues and litigants while reportedly under the influence of Phentermine or other prescription drugs.

Blocton was accused of calling another judge a “fat bitch” and “Uncle Tom,” according to the judgment of the Alabama Court of the Judiciary.

One employee accused Blocton of forcing her and others to take Phentermine, a diet pill, to “pep” them up after working late in a complaint to the Alabama Judiciary.

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