Tagged: Tennessee

Members of the Tennessee Board of Pharmacists will be discussing additional measures the state could take in regulating compounding pharmacies in the wake of a multi-state outbreak of fungal meningitis that has sickened hundreds of people across the country.

Doctors in Tennessee were among the first to link the outbreak to steroid injections prepared by a Massachusetts compounding pharmacy. Across the county, 45 people, including 14 in Tennessee, have died after getting the shots.

A task force formed by the state board to look at state laws in regard to compounding pharmacies is expected to make recommendations during a meeting Thursday.

Supporters of a bill to allow supermarkets and convenience stores to sell wine are scheduled to unveil the details of their legislative proposal Thursday. State Senator Bill Ketron of Murfreesboro and fellow Republican Representative Jon Lundberg of Bristol are the main sponsors of the measure that would end the exclusive right of liquor stores to sell wine in Tennessee.

The measure is expected to seek to put the option of whether to allow wider wine sales o the voters in local cities and counties. The Republican House and Senate speakers support the change. But opponents argue the change would unfairly disrupt the existing business rules that liquor store owners invested under, and that the measure would make higher-alcohol drinks more widely available to minors.

Tennessee Senator Lamar Alexander's reelection campaign announced four upcoming fundraising events that he predicted would add more than $3 million to his $1 million war chest. Politico is reporting observers see the announcement as a way to scare off would-be conservative primary challengers.

Fellow Republican Tennessee Senator Bob Corker will host the first fundraiser at his house in Chattanooga in April. The others will be in Nashville, Knoxville and Memphis. The 72-year-old Alexander, who is seeking his third term, has been seeking out so-called "bundlers". Ten supporters have already agreed to raise $100,000. The campaign is trying to get 25 others to agree to bring in at least $50,000.

Alexander has been aggressive about shoring up support early. In December he named five Republicans in the House delegation, Governor Bill Haslam and Speaker Beth Harwell as co-chairmen.