USA Drug

The lawsuit that led Pulaski County Circuit Judge Morgan “Chip” Welch to strike down 27 state laws on medical marijuana was filed by Good Day Farm Arkansas LLC. read more >

The sale of auto properties in west Little Rock weighed in at a combined $17.8 million. The sale of a 44,337-SF hangar at Clinton National Airport tipped the scales at more than $8.2 million. And a former USA Drug project in west Little Rock is under new ownership after a $1.95 million sale. read more >

Twenty-six dollars went a lot farther in 1968 than it does today. Even then, that was a small amount for a business to take in on a single day. But $26 is exactly what Stephen L. LaFrance Sr. put in the cash register on his first day in business at the pharmacy at Gibson’s Department Store in Pine Bluff. From that rather modest beginning, LaFrance built that single drugstore into USA Drug, which grew to be the largest privately owned chain of drugstores in the United States. read more >

You want more million-dollar deals? Here’s a pair. read more >

Lakewood Village is bouncing back nicely from the one-two blow of losing two of its major tenants. In place of USA Drug, which closed in the fall of 2012 after the chain was sold to Walgreen Co., two retailers new to North Little Rock are set to open in the next few weeks: Ulta Beauty and Dress Barn. read more >

Pulaski County Circuit Judge Wendell Griffen on Friday found that the U.S. Attorney's Office in Little Rock was in contempt of court for failing to pay three private defense attorneys the fees he had ordered more than a year ago. read more >

Pulaski County Circuit Judge Wendell Griffen has imposed sanctions on federal prosecutors in the criminal case against former USA Drug executive Garret Sorensen and ordered the government to pay $12,700 to the attorneys who represented Sorensen and his wife and sister-in-law, who were originally charged with him. read more >

Steve LaFrance Sr., who last year sold his USA Drug pharmacy chain to Walgreen's for $438 million, has died at his home in Pine Bluff, according to Jefferson County Coroner Chad Kelley. read more >

Another independent pharmacy is surfacing in the wake of last year’s USA Drug chain sale to Walgreens. read more >

According to Walgreen Co.'s earnings report for its fiscal first quarter, which ended Nov. 30, buying USA Drug from Stephen L. LaFrance Holdings Inc. cost Walgreen’s $416 million. read more >

Deal-making activity in Arkansas picked up in 2012 over 2011 levels, with the number of mergers and acquisitions believed to be valued at $9 million or more rising to 80 last year compared with 70 the year before. read more >

Walgreen Co. of Deerfield, Ill., closed a USA Drug store in Benton on Thursday and two more stores in Pine Bluff will close in February. read more >

The Razorbacks' awful year. Wal-Mart under scrutiny. The GOP takes control. Dillard's, Murphy and growing banks. Arkansas Business takes its annual look at the most important business stories in Arkansas that took place during 2012. read more >

L&R Distributors Inc. of Brooklyn, N.Y., says it is buying the assets of SAJ Distributors, formerly owned by Stephen L. LaFrance Holdings, from Walgreen Co. read more >