Drug News and Discussions

User avatar
caltrek
Posts: 6509
Joined: Mon May 17, 2021 1:17 pm

Re: Drug News and Discussions

Post by caltrek »

While Lobbying to Kill Build Back Better, Pharma Hikes Costs of 866 Drugs
by Jake Johnson
January 31, 2022

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2022/ ... -866-drugs

Introduction:
(Common Dreams) Major pharmaceutical companies in the U.S. hiked the prices of nearly 870 prescription medications during the first month of the new year as lock-step Republicans and right-wing Democrats—flush with cash from drugmakers—continue to block legislation aimed at reining in the industry.

Through January 20 of this year, according to an analysis released Sunday by Rx Savings Solutions, drugmakers raised the costs of 866 of their products in the U.S. by an average of 6.6%.

"Over the same period last year, drugmakers raised prices by an average of 4.5% on 893 drugs," observed the Wall Street Journal, which first reported the new study.

"There were some large price increases. AmerisourceBergen Corp.'s Blue Point Laboratories, a seller of generic drugs, more than doubled the price of the cancer chemotherapy drug cisplatin to $30," the Journal noted. Exelan Pharmaceuticals Inc. raised the price of its generic lisinopril to treat high blood pressure by 536% to a range of $6.17 to $549.85, depending on the dosage and package size."

The latest data on Big Pharma's 2022 price hikes drew the attention of members of Congress who are working—in the face of a record-shattering industry lobbying blitz—to pass legislation to curb sky-high drug costs, a problem that's far worse in the U.S. than in other wealthy countries.
Don't mourn, organize.

-Joe Hill
weatheriscool
Posts: 12946
Joined: Sun May 16, 2021 6:16 pm

Re: Drug News and Discussions

Post by weatheriscool »

First recreational marijuana sales licenses expected to go to New Yorkers with related convictions
Source: CBS News via MSN
NEW YORK -- New Yorkers with marijuana-related convictions will get the first licenses to sell recreational weed.

Those applicants or their family members will be eligible for the first 100-200 licenses awarded by the state.

It's part of an effort to make sure early business owners will be people who have been affected by the nation's war on drugs.

The policy is expected to be announced by Gov. Kathy Hochul on Thursday.
Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/ne ... nvictions/
weatheriscool
Posts: 12946
Joined: Sun May 16, 2021 6:16 pm

Re: Drug News and Discussions

Post by weatheriscool »

House votes to decriminalize marijuana at federal level
Bill passes 220-204, with three Republicans voting yes and two Democrats voting no
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/house- ... 175be38b67
User avatar
caltrek
Posts: 6509
Joined: Mon May 17, 2021 1:17 pm

Re: Drug News and Discussions

Post by caltrek »

Remdesivir Dominated Hospital Drug Spending in 2021
April 6, 2022

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/948945

Introduction:
(EurekAlert) The COVID-19 treatment remdesivir dominated hospital drug spending in 2021, accounting for nearly 10% of all pharmaceutical expenses and outpacing the next three drugs combined, according to the ASHP (American Society of Health-System Pharmacists) National Trends in Prescription Drug Expenditures and Projections for 2022.

"Drug expenditures played a significant role in the rise in healthcare expenditures sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic," said Daniel J. Cobaugh, Pharm.D., FAACT, DABAT, vice president of publishing at ASHP and editor-in-chief of AJHP. "Our annual report provides the critical context necessary for hospital and health-system leaders, policymakers, and others to understand the complex factors influencing drug expenditure patterns and prepare for future growth and spending."

Total drug spending in the U.S. grew 7.7% in 2021 to $576.9 billion. Hospitals accounted for $39.6 billion, with 8.4% growth over 2020, and clinics accounted $105 billion in spending, a 7.7% increase. Higher utilization and new drugs drove spending growth, even though drug prices decreased by up to 1.4%. That situation is likely to change in 2022 if manufacturers attempt to pass along their increased costs, the report said.

“The drug spending whiplash that clinics and hospitals experienced in the first year of the pandemic did not end with 2021,” said the report's lead author, Eric Tichy, Pharm.D., M.B.A., division chair, supply chain management at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota. “Uncertainty remains around how long the federal government will continue to pay for COVID treatments, and around inflation, which is moving through most economic sectors.”

A moderating factor on drug spending was the increased use of biosimilars, the generic versions of biological medications. “Biosimilars really took off this year,” Tichy said. “In oncology, we’re using more biosimilars than we are the originator drugs. A couple of years ago there was a lot of consternation about the uptake of biosimilars being slow, but that has turned around. Their use is likely to continue growing, and it’s saving the healthcare system a lot of money.”
Don't mourn, organize.

-Joe Hill
weatheriscool
Posts: 12946
Joined: Sun May 16, 2021 6:16 pm

Re: Drug News and Discussions

Post by weatheriscool »

Magic mushroom compound increases brain connectivity in people with depression after use
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-04- ... eople.html
by Imperial College London
Psilocybin, the psychedelic compound found in magic mushrooms, helps to "open up" depressed people's brains, even after use, enabling brain regions to talk more freely to one another.

These are the findings of a new analysis of brain scans from close to 60 people receiving treatment for depression, led by Imperial College London's Centre for Psychedelic Research. The team behind the study believes it may have untangled how psilocybin exerts its therapeutic effects on the brain.

Psilocybin is one of a number of psychedelics being explored as a potential therapy for psychiatric disorders. Several studies have trialed a synthesized form of the drug to treat patients with depression and anxiety, with promising results.

The new results, taken from two combined studies, reveal that people who responded to psilocybin-assisted therapy showed increased brain connectivity not just during their treatment, but up to three weeks afterwards. This "opening up" effect was associated with self-reported improvements in their depression. However, similar changes in brain connectivity were not seen in those treated with a conventional antidepressant (called escitalopram), suggesting the psychedelic works differently in treating depression.
weatheriscool
Posts: 12946
Joined: Sun May 16, 2021 6:16 pm

Re: Drug News and Discussions

Post by weatheriscool »

Providing naloxone in the emergency department can save lives
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-04- ... tment.html
by Anish K. Agarwal and Margaret Lowenstein, University of Pennsylvania

Overdose deaths continue to be a national tragedy. More than 800,000 Americans died from an overdose between 1999–2019, and the annual rate of overdoses has increased dramatically during the pandemic, according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Roughly 7 in 10 current overdose deaths involve opioids, which means that many of them could be prevented with naloxone. Naloxone, also known by its brand name Narcan, acts to reverse opioid overdoses and save lives when used in time. It is easy to carry and use, and studies have demonstrated that laypeople can administer it safely and effectively to reverse overdoses.
weatheriscool
Posts: 12946
Joined: Sun May 16, 2021 6:16 pm

Re: Drug News and Discussions

Post by weatheriscool »

New Jersey's recreational marijuana market opens for business
Source: CBS News
New Jersey's recreational marijuana marketplace is open for business. Recreational sales of cannabis for adults 21 and older are scheduled to start Thursday, with the first alternative treatment centers opening at 6 a.m. in part of the state.

"It's a huge event. It's a moment in time in American history where prohibition 2.0 is lifted," said Ben Kovler, the chairman and CEO of Green Thumb Industries, which has two facilities opening Thursday, one in Bloomfield and another in Paterson.

The start of the recreational market comes a a week after Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy announced that state regulators had cleared the way for recreational sales at seven "alternative treatment centers" that had already offered medical cannabis. The seven centers operate 13 facilities across the state.

New Jersey is among 18 states, plus the District of Columbia, with legalized recreational marijuana markets. Thirty-seven states, including New Jersey, have legalized medical marijuana.
Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/marijuana- ... ical-weed/
weatheriscool
Posts: 12946
Joined: Sun May 16, 2021 6:16 pm

Re: Drug News and Discussions

Post by weatheriscool »

U.S. surpasses record 100,000 overdose deaths in 2021
Source: Washington Post
More Americans died from drug overdoses in 2021 than any previous year, a grim milestone in an epidemic that has now claimed 1 million lives in the 21st century, according to federal data released Wednesday. More than 100,000 Americans died of drug overdoses in 2021, up 15 percent from the previous year, according to figures released Wednesday by the National Center for Health Statistics. The sobering tally reflects challenges exacerbated by the pandemic: lost access to treatment, social isolation and a more potent drug supply.

More than 80,000 people died from opioids, including prescription pain pills and fentanyl, a deadly drug 100 times as powerful as morphine and increasingly present in other drugs. Deaths from methamphetamine and cocaine also rose. Since the start of the 21st century, an overdose epidemic led by prescription pain pills and followed by waves of heroin, fentanyl and meth has killed more than 1 million people, or roughly the population of San Jose, according to the provisional data.

And there is no clear end in sight, according to experts. “2022 will probably be as horrible as 2021 was, quite possibly worse,” said Keith Humphreys, an addiction and drug policy researcher at Stanford University. Overdose deaths jumped to previously unseen levels in the first half of the pandemic, rising 30% from 2019 to 2020. The coronavirus pandemic strained finances, mental health, housing and more for many, all the while overshadowing the drug crisis. There is concern that a predicted spike in cases this fall could again curtail access to treatment and medication.

Covid has taken as many lives in two years compared to the opioid epidemic’s two-decade span. The victims of the drug epidemic are overwhelmingly young. Between 2015 and 2019, young Americans lost an estimated 1.2 million years of life from drug overdoses, according to a study published in JAMA in January.
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2 ... c-numbers/
weatheriscool
Posts: 12946
Joined: Sun May 16, 2021 6:16 pm

Re: Drug News and Discussions

Post by weatheriscool »

Rhode Island becomes 19th state to legalize marijuana, includes automatic expungement
« on: May 27, 2022, 08:33:52 PM »
https://www.wpri.com/news/cannabis-cove ... -into-law/

State Rep. Scott Slater, D-Providence, the lead House sponsor, said he was most proud of the social equity components of the law. While the first retail licenses will go to existing medical dispensaries, future store licenses are set aside for low-income applicants and worker co-ops.


Among the changes was the addition of a state-initiated expungement of past marijuana crimes, which in the original bill would have required people to petition the court for the expungement.

The “automatic” method will still take a while — the bill gives the courts until July 1, 2024 — so people who want their expungement sooner can still petition the court.

Slater praised State Rep. Leonela Felix, D-Pawtucket, who helped push for the expungement process that ended up in the final bill.


Consumers will pay the 7% sales tax on cannabis sales, plus a new 10% cannabis tax and a 3% local tax to the town or city where the store is located.
User avatar
wjfox
Site Admin
Posts: 8730
Joined: Sat May 15, 2021 6:09 pm
Location: London, UK
Contact:

Re: Drug News and Discussions

Post by wjfox »

Canada trials decriminalising cocaine, MDMA and other drugs

Published
3 hours ago

Canada has announced it will temporarily decriminalise the possession of small amounts of some illicit drugs in British Columbia (BC).

The province asked for the criminal code exemption after overdoses claimed more than two thousand lives in BC last year.

This time-limited three-year trial is the first of its kind in Canada.

Adults will be allowed to possess a combined total of 2.5 grams of opioids, cocaine, methamphetamine and MDMA.

While those substances will remain illegal, adults found in possession for personal use will not be arrested, charged or have their drugs seized. Instead, they will be offered information on available health and social services.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-61657095
Post Reply