Prescription Drugs Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Active Duty And Retired Military Eligible For Emergency Prescriptions Due To Storms

Uniformed service members, military retirees and their families served by TRICARE are eligible for emergency prescription refills due to recent inclement weather.

The Defense Health Agency announced Thursday that TRICARE beneficiaries in four counties in West Virginia may receive emergency prescription refills now through April 13, 2024, due to storm damage.

The Defense Health Agency and TRICARE serve uniformed service members, military retirees and their families.

Beneficiaries in Fayette, Kanawha, Lincoln and Nicholas counties are eligible for the emergency waiver.

On Thursday afternoon, Gov. Jim Justice amended his State of Emergency to include Barbour, Brooke, Hancock, Marshall, Ohio, Wetzel and Wood counties.

The Defense Health Agency told West Virginia Public Broadcasting via email that the waiver will not be extended to those counties at this time.

To receive an emergency medication refill, TRICARE beneficiaries should take their prescription bottle to any TRICARE retail network pharmacy. Patients are advised to visit the pharmacy where the prescription was originally filled.

To find a network pharmacy, beneficiaries may call Express Scripts at 1-877-363-1303 or search the network pharmacy locator.

Groups Collecting Prescription Drugs For Take Back Day

For more than ten years, the Drug Enforcement Administration has organized National Prescription Drug Take Back Day. It’s a safe way to dispose of expired or unwanted medications. Groups across the state are collecting old prescription drugs Friday and Saturday.

For more than ten years, the Drug Enforcement Administration has organized National Prescription Drug Take Back Day.

It’s a safe way to dispose of expired or unwanted medications. Groups across the state are collecting old prescription drugs Friday and Saturday.

A majority of people who abuse prescription drugs obtained them from family and friends – and the home medicine cabinet. To remove the hazard, groups will accept tablets, capsules, patches, and other solid forms of prescription drugs. Liquids and needles will not be accepted. Vaping devices and cartridges are allowed,

The collections are also meant to prevent unused prescription drugs ending up in the trash, where they can be retrieved and abused or illegally sold. It also helps to prevent unused drugs from being flushed, contaminating the water supply.

Most Sheriff’s offices will take part including Oceana Police Department in Wyoming County and the Raleigh County Sheriff’s Department and Crab Orchard Pharmacy. Drugs can also be dropped off at the Charleston Police Department and several pharmacies across the capitol city.

Most Sheriff’s offices will take part including in Raleigh County as well as the Oceana Police Department in Wyoming County. Drugs can also be dropped off at the Charleston Police Department and several pharmacies across the capitol city.

The DEA has created a collection site locator where you can find a location near you.

Owner Of 2 W.Va. Pharmacies Fined In Prescription Probe

The owner of two West Virginia pharmacies has agreed to pay $300,000 in civil penalties to settle allegations that they filled illegitimate prescriptions in violation of federal law.

Federal prosecutors said Beckley Pharmacy’s two locations and Bee Well Pharmacy in South Charleston filled prescriptions that were not for a legitimate medical purpose from 2015 to 2020.

Under the settlement announced Monday, Bee Well Pharmacy will be unable to fill prescriptions for controlled substances after agreeing to surrender its Drug Enforcement Administration registration. The Beckley locations will retain their registrations but must adhere to more stringent regulatory and reporting obligations, prosecutors said.

“Pharmacies must keep accurate records and maintain strong controls when handling controlled substances,” acting U.S. Attorney Lisa G. Johnston said in a statement. ”Those that fail to do so open the door to the potential diversion of drugs, the illegal distribution, and abuse of these drugs.”

W. Va. Agencies Participating in Drug Take Back Day

Law enforcement officials in West Virginia are participating in the Drug Enforcement Administration’s National Drug Take Back Day.

The Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office said it will have deputies stationed at each detachment from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. Deputies will be posted at detachments in Saint Albans, Cross Lanes, Sissonville, Elkview and Quincy.

Detachment locations can be found online. Also, a drug take back box is located at the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office Charleston headquarters and available for disposals during business hours on weekdays.

Other agencies in West Virginia are also participating. More information is available online.

Drug Company Probing Lawsuit Allegations at Union's Request

At a union’s request, a California-based drug wholesaler is looking into allegations in a 2016 lawsuit that the company flooded West Virginia with prescription pain pills.

McKesson Corp. spokeswoman Kristin Hunter told the Charleston Gazette-Mail that the San Francisco-based company appointed a committee to review issues raised by the Teamsters union, which has pension and benefit funds that invest in McKesson.

The committee has hired a Palo Alto, California, law firm. According to a May 11 letter to Teamsters Local 175 President Ken Hall in South Charleston, the law firm has agreed to meet with Teamsters officials.

According to a lawsuit filed by West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, McKesson awarded bonuses and commissions to sales managers while “West Virginia was drowning” in millions of doses of addictive painkillers.

W.Va. Gets $36M to End Suit Against 2 Drug Companies

Two major prescription drug distributors have agreed to pay $36 million to settle a West Virginia lawsuit alleging they fueled West Virginia’s opioid epidemic with excessively large shipments of painkillers into the state over several years.

State officials on Monday say Cardinal Health will pay $20 million and AmerisourceBergen will pay $16 million under the terms that have now been filed with Boone County Circuit Court.

The companies have denied any wrongdoing.

Judge William Thompson disclosed the proposed settlements two weeks ago with no details.

The state has settled similar claims against other wholesalers for another $11 million.

A Charleston Gazette-Mail investigation found drug wholesalers shipped 780 million hydrocodone and oxycodone pills to West Virginia in six years, a period when 1,728 people statewide fatally overdosed.