One down

It seems that this pharmacists in one corner of Georgia have a little less to worry about: “Man arrested and charged in string of pharmacy burglaries.”

This Sunday: AEP wine tasting, schmoozing, and fun

Don’t miss the big almost-year-end networking event for pharmacists!

It’s the Academy of Employee Pharmacists big event, including wine tasting, food, drink, and really cool people* from across the state.

It’s December 9 from 6:00 to 9:00 pm at the Baraonda Ristorante & Bar in Atlanta.

Tix are only $35 (which includes four wine tastings and plenty of appetizers) — but only if you buy them by tomorrow, December 7. (After that or at the door it’s $40.)

RSVP right now at GPhA.org/aepnetworking.

AEP members: Be sure to bring along a non-AEP pharmacist! They are welcome!

Important: You do NOT need to log in! Just hit Esc to skip the login form!

*Your coolness may vary. Some settling of contents may occur.

China says it’ll crack down on fentanyl

That’s good news, but not quite a game changer. True, fentanyl and its analogs kill about 28,000 Americans a year, but while “Beijing’s newly stated intention to punish its illegal fentanyl dealers
to the maximum penalty under the law was well-received by many who follow the issue,” experts say “it probably won’t have an immediate effect on overdose deaths.”

But even long journeys need those first few steps.

Carry naloxone? Read this

Here’s a scary problem: Life insurers are apparently denying coverage to people who have a naloxone prescription because the carriers don’t know if the meds are for them or for them to use on someone.

Generics: Price determines shortages

The higher the price, the less likely a shortage. (Interesting note: “competition and market size were not associated with the likelihood of a shortage.”)

The headline says it all

“Is America Ready For Prescription Heroin?”

Patients typically get a regular, measured dose of pharmaceutical-grade heroin — also known as diacetylmorphine or diamorphine — and inject it under close medical supervision inside a designated clinic.

The idea is if people have a legal source of heroin, they’ll be less likely to overdose on tainted street drugs, spend less time and energy trying to get their next fix, and instead be able to focus on the underlying drivers of their addiction.

(The answer, at least for RAND researchers, is “Yes.”)

Today’s medical shocker

Most people lie to their clinicians.

The long read: cannabis and diabetes

From Forbes: There’s some indication that, through its anti-inflammatory and anti-pain properties, both THC and CBD can help alleviate — and potentially prevent — diabetes.