A federal appeals court has put on hold the suspension of two Florida CVS pharmacies that would have prevented them from selling controlled substances.
The court on Wednesday stopped the suspension while it considers an appeal from the stores. The Drug Enforcement Administration had issued the suspension because of alleged lax enforcement of restrictions on a powerful painkiller.
The DEA says the pharmacies were dispensing the painkiller oxycodone far in excess of legitimate needs. CVS says it has taken steps to reduce the prescriptions.
On Tuesday, a federal judge denied the CVS stores' request for a preliminary injunction in the case, but the stores immediately appealed.
The appeals court has already put on hold DEA's suspension of Cardinal Health's Lakeland, Fla.-based center that supplied the stores.
