The mailings promised “Life Without Pain!” via stem cell injections or IVs administered in a patient’s own home. The allure was obvious: more than 20% of U.S. adults endure chronic pain. The flyers invited Iowans to free dinners across the state. Afterward, sales people traveled to potential customers’ homes for high-pressure pitches disguised as pre-screenings, … Read more
MONTPELIER, Vt. — A Vermont man who lost his job after he said a random drug test showed he had used medical marijuana off duty for chronic pain has appealed to the Vermont Supreme Court saying he should not have been denied a portion of his state unemployment benefits. Ivo Skoric, 59, representing himself, told … Read more
MBALE, Uganda — Barbara Nabulo was one of three girls in her family. But when a sister died, her mother wailed at the funeral that she was left with just one and a half daughters. The half was the ailing Nabulo, who at age 12 grasped her mother’s meaning. “I hated myself so much,” Nabulo … Read more
HOWELL, Mich. — A Michigan judge sentenced the former executive of a specialty pharmacy to at least 10 years in prison Friday for the deaths of 11 people who were injected with tainted pain medication, part of a meningitis outbreak that affected hundreds across the U.S. in 2012. Barry Cadden’s sentence for involuntary manslaughter will … Read more
ATLANTA — Georgia’s governor on Thursday signed a bill putting new regulations on the production and sale of products containing kratom, a plant-based supplement. The law, which takes effect Jan. 1, prohibits the sale of kratom to anyone under 21 and says it must be kept behind a counter or in a display area that … Read more
PARIS — France’s government presented a bill Wednesday to allow adults with terminal cancer or other incurable illness to take lethal medication, as public demands grow for legal options for aid in dying. Many French people have traveled to neighboring countries where medically assisted suicide or euthanasia are legal. French President Emmanuel Macron has long … Read more
MADISON, Wis. — A Republican proposal to legalize medical marijuana in Wisconsin is dead. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said Thursday that there will still be a public hearing to build support for passage next session, but it won’t occur until after the Assembly has adjourned for this year. The measure drew opposition for being too … Read more
FRANKFORT, Ky. — Access to medical marijuana in Kentucky should expand to include a longer list of severe health conditions, Gov. Andy Beshear said Thursday in advocating a change that would make hundreds of thousands more people eligible for treatment when the program begins next year. The measure passed by the GOP-led legislature in 2023 … Read more
PORTLAND, Ore. — Authorities are investigating the theft of medication prescribed to patients at a southern Oregon hospital, police and state medical officials confirmed Wednesday, following a local news report that two people died and others were sickened after a nurse replaced fentanyl intravenous drips with tap water. Officials at Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center … Read more
