Day: 12/19/2014

Record Pharma-Deal Year Not Enough to Sell Mature Drugs

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-12-19/record-pharma-deal-year-not-enough-to-sell-mature-drugs.html

Drug companies have agreed to about $260 billion of deals so far in 2014, the most since at least 2002 and more than twice the volume last year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Bloomberg didn’t explain what all these deals mean for people like you and me, but I don’t think all this M&A activity will prove to be good for the average consumer.

Prescription drugs still the leading cause of poisonings

https://www.consumeraffairs.com/news/prescription-drugs-still-the-leading-cause-of-poisonings-121914.html

Prescription drugs are still the leading cause of poisonings in the U.S. but a new study finds that “bath salts,” synthetic marijuana and laundry detergent pods are becoming common threats as well…

The majority (83 percent) of poisonings that ended in death in 2012 were linked to a pharmaceutical product, most commonly opioid painkillers, though NPDS also recorded deaths from cardiovascular and antidepressant medications.

“Poisoning continues to be a significant cause of injury and death in the United States,” said Dr. Dart

Funny, but I don’t see any mention for drug poisonings that occur when doctors and pharmacies make mistakes…

City Life May Be To Blame For Rising Diabetes Rates

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/19/diabetes-urban-stress_n_6356622.html

“Our findings indicate that people who leave a rural lifestyle for an urban environment are exposed to high levels of stress and tend to have higher levels of the hormone cortisol,” said study co-author Dr. Peter Herbert Kann, M.D. Ph.D. in a press release. “This stress is likely contributing to the rising rates of diabetes we see in developing nations.”

8-Year-Old’s Death Prompts Medical Marijuana Rally Outside Andrew Cuomo’s Office

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/19/medical-marijuana-andrew-cuomo_n_6355044.html

The Drug Policy Alliance organized Friday’s rally as part of a larger campaign called #MyHolidayWish in which families of sick people throughout New York state are asking the governor to “grant their holiday wish” of emergency access.

Google Sues Mississippi Attorney General, Alleging Internet Censorship

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/19/google-internet-censorship_n_6354518.html

The tech giant sued Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood (D) in a U.S. district court on Friday, alleging that his efforts to hold the search engine accountable for objectionable content online, such as illegal prescription drugs and pirated movies, violate federal law and are unconstitutional under the First and Fourth Amendments.

Hood has maintained that there is nothing improper about getting assistance from MPAA to fight crime. He told HuffPost earlier this week that he’s simply trying to ensure that Google is a good corporate citizen, and noted that Google paid $500 million in 2011 to settle claims that the tech company allowed ads for illegal prescription drugs.

From New MexiCann newsletter of 12/13/2014:

Revised Proposed Rules & Regulations for the NM Medical Cannabis Program:

As you may all know, the Dept. has put in hundreds of hours since the last Public Hearing revising the Proposed Rules. Since then, they have received additional input from a variety of stake holders and they are seriously considering several additional changes that would improve the MCP for both Patients and Producers. It appears that the we are developing a partnership, a working relationship between all – Patients, LNPPs, the Administration. Thanks to DPA, at least one critical change has already been announced by the Dept. – NO Medical Practitioner can over-ride the recommendation of certifying Practitioner and deny a Patient’s application. Actually, the Dept. did not intend for this over-ride to be in the Proposed Rules, but inadvertently, it was still there in one spot.

My hope is that the consideration and dialog will continue this week and early next. Since the Proposed Rules have already been published, the Dept. cannot make any changes to the text. BUT, they can agree to make changes and announce those revisions before or at the Public Hearing. I am optimistic that the final version of the Proposed Rules will be one that we can all live with – not perfect, but acceptable. If this turns out to be the case, I will urge an orderly and polite Public Hearing. One where our differences can be presented without contention by professionals in order to bring real these to light for the Hearing Officer’s consideration.

I believe that if we do that, without the large demonstrations and understandable venting of frustrations, we will accomplish a great deal more than with a circus. The circus serves a valuable purpose. It gets attention – and when successful it gets action. The last Public Hearing did just that. Activists spoke out loudly and in great numbers. It was not a pleasant experience for the Dept. but they listen and took the Hearing Officer’s report to heart. As a result, we have Proposed Regulations that are far better and we have a dialogue with the Dept. that I expect will be ongoing.

As we get more info on what additional positive revisions will be proposed by DoH, I will let you know. From my seat, we have a working partnership that should continue to develop if we function cooperatively and not as adversaries. Partners do not always agree – but good working partners listen to and respect each others opinions and try to compromise for the good of the partnership.

Len Goodman
Executive Director, New MexiCann Natural Medicine

As you can see, there’s no mention of shortages, as the producers and the DOH have decided that they’ve fixed that problem.  And unlike all the attention for the last meeting, the producers — or, should I say, this producer — feels that we don’t need another “circus” at this meeting.  Huh, interesting…