One week after the Justice Department asked a judge to reverse a ruling that banned commercials for the psychiatric drug Paxil, a stay was issued granting the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) more time to prepare a brief defending the anti-depressant medication. Last week, U.S. District Judge Mariana Pfaelzer ordered pharmaceutical maker GlaxoSmithKline to immediately pull all commercials for Paxil that claim the medication is non-habit forming, saying that they are misleading and create "inaccurate expectations about the ease of withdrawal from the drug."

As part of the stay, the court-ordered deadline was extended from September 1 to September 12. FDA officials insist that the agency should make decisions concerning restrictions on medications and drug corporations. Pfaelzer's ruling extended from a civil lawsuit involving 35 former Paxil users who allege the medication led to "severe withdrawal reactions." A decision will be made in November as to whether the case will be granted class-action status.