BUSINESS COMBINATIONS (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended									0 Months Ended	3 Months Ended		12 Months Ended															0 Months Ended				0 Months Ended				0 Months Ended				0 Months Ended				3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2013	Mar. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2012	Mar. 31, 2013 1.375% Convertible Senior Notes due in 2017	Dec. 11, 2012 1.375% Convertible Senior Notes due in 2017	Feb. 11, 2013 2.5% Contingent Convertible Senior Notes due in 2032	Dec. 11, 2012 2.5% Contingent Convertible Senior Notes due in 2032	Feb. 11, 2013 1.5% Contingent Convertible Senior Notes due in 2033	Dec. 11, 2012 1.5% Contingent Convertible Senior Notes due in 2033	Dec. 12, 2012 Medicis	Mar. 31, 2013 Medicis	Dec. 31, 2012 Medicis	Dec. 31, 2012 Medicis	Dec. 11, 2012 Medicis	Dec. 11, 2012 Medicis Amounts Recognized as of Acquisition Date (as previously reported)	Mar. 31, 2013 Medicis Measurement Period Adjustments	Mar. 31, 2013 Medicis Amounts Recognized (as adjusted)	Dec. 11, 2012 Medicis Minimum	Dec. 11, 2012 Medicis Maximum	Mar. 31, 2013 Medicis 1.375% Convertible Senior Notes due in 2017	Dec. 11, 2012 Medicis 1.375% Convertible Senior Notes due in 2017	Mar. 31, 2013 Medicis 2.5% Contingent Convertible Senior Notes due in 2032	Dec. 11, 2012 Medicis 2.5% Contingent Convertible Senior Notes due in 2032	Mar. 31, 2013 Medicis 1.5% Contingent Convertible Senior Notes due in 2033	Dec. 11, 2012 Medicis 1.5% Contingent Convertible Senior Notes due in 2033	Dec. 11, 2012 Medicis Development of dermatology products for treatment of bacterial vaginosis	Dec. 11, 2012 Medicis Development of several aesthetics programs	Dec. 12, 2012 Medicis Product brands	Dec. 11, 2012 Medicis Product brands Amounts Recognized as of Acquisition Date (as previously reported)	Mar. 31, 2013 Medicis Product brands Measurement Period Adjustments	Mar. 31, 2013 Medicis Product brands Amounts Recognized (as adjusted)	Dec. 12, 2012 Medicis Corporate brand	Dec. 11, 2012 Medicis Corporate brand Amounts Recognized as of Acquisition Date (as previously reported)	Mar. 31, 2013 Medicis Corporate brand Measurement Period Adjustments	Mar. 31, 2013 Medicis Corporate brand Amounts Recognized (as adjusted)	Dec. 12, 2012 Medicis Patents	Dec. 11, 2012 Medicis Patents Amounts Recognized as of Acquisition Date (as previously reported)	Mar. 31, 2013 Medicis Patents Measurement Period Adjustments	Mar. 31, 2013 Medicis Patents Amounts Recognized (as adjusted)	Dec. 12, 2012 Medicis In-licensed products	Dec. 11, 2012 Medicis In-licensed products Amounts Recognized as of Acquisition Date (as previously reported)	Mar. 31, 2013 Medicis In-licensed products Measurement Period Adjustments	Mar. 31, 2013 Medicis In-licensed products Amounts Recognized (as adjusted)	Mar. 31, 2013 Eisai Inc, Natur Produkt International, JSC and other smaller acquisitions	Mar. 31, 2013 Eisai Inc, Natur Produkt International, JSC and other smaller acquisitions Product brands	Mar. 31, 2013 Eisai Inc, Natur Produkt International, JSC and other smaller acquisitions Corporate brand	Mar. 31, 2013 Eisai Inc, Natur Produkt International, JSC and other smaller acquisitions Patents	Feb. 20, 2013 Eisai	Mar. 31, 2013 Natur Produkt	Feb. 01, 2013 Natur Produkt
Business Combinations
Fair value of contingent consideration																																												$ 59,100,000				$ 50,800,000
Upfront payment																																																66,500,000
Potential future milestone payments																																																60,000,000
Per Share Consideration (in dollars per share)														$ 44.00
Par value per share of common stock (in dollars per share)	$ 0		$ 0											$ 0.014
Fair Value of Consideration Transferred
Number of common shares of Medicis outstanding as of acquisition date	303,801,803		303,861,272											57,135,000
Fair value of common shares outstanding as of the date of the acquisition														2,513,946,000
Number of stock options of Medicis cancelled and exchanged for cash														3,152,000
Fair value of number of stock options of Medicis cancelled and exchanged for cash														33,052,000
Number of outstanding restricted shares cancelled and exchanged for cash														1,974,000
Fair value of number of outstanding restricted shares cancelled and exchanged for cash														31,881,000
Total fair value of consideration transferred														2,578,879,000	2,578,879,000		2,578,879,000																											311,115,000						137,000,000
Contingent refund of purchase price																																																		20,000,000
Refund of contingent purchase price																																																	20,000,000
Restructuring, integration and other costs	48,985,000	62,337,000								77,300,000	15,772,000		162,952,000
Assets acquired and liabilities assumed
Cash and cash equivalents															169,583,000		169,583,000																											5,128,000
Accounts receivable															81,092,000	(125,000)	80,967,000																											39,612,000
Inventories															145,157,000	(6,123,000)	139,034,000																											15,717,000
Short-term and long-term investments															626,559,000		626,559,000
Income taxes receivable															40,416,000		40,416,000
Other current assets															74,622,000		74,622,000																											1,820,000
Property, plant and equipment															8,239,000	(5,625,000)	2,614,000																											3,474,000
Identifiable intangible assets, excluding acquired IPR&D															1,390,724,000	(21,843,000)	1,368,881,000												491,627,000	(24,877,000)	466,750,000		40,683,000	(397,000)	40,286,000		224,985,000	1,148,000	226,133,000		633,429,000	2,283,000	635,712,000	263,320,000	179,687,000	11,957,000	71,676,000
Acquired IPR&D	555,386,000		546,876,000												153,817,000	5,992,000	159,809,000									136,900,000	22,900,000																	2,628,000
Indemnification assets																																												3,201,000
Other non-current assets															616,000		616,000
Current liabilities															(453,909,000)	(5,076,000)	(458,985,000)																											(13,387,000)
Short-term borrowings																																												(30,855,000)
Long-term debt, including current portion														(777,985,000)	(777,985,000)		(777,985,000)				(546,668,000)		(231,111,000)		(206,000)																			(6,699,000)
Deferred income taxes and tax liability, net															(205,009,000)	10,239,000	(194,770,000)																											(8,016,000)
Other non-current liabilities															(8,841,000)		(8,841,000)																											(479,000)
Total identifiable net assets															1,245,081,000	(22,561,000)	1,222,520,000																											275,464,000
Goodwill															1,333,798,000	22,561,000	1,356,359,000																											35,651,000
Total fair value of consideration transferred														2,578,879,000	2,578,879,000		2,578,879,000																											311,115,000						137,000,000
Fair value of accounts receivable acquired														81,000,000																														39,600,000
Gross contractual amount of trade accounts receivable acquired														81,100,000																														40,300,000
Expected uncollectible of trade accounts receivable acquired														100,000																														700,000
Entry to record inventory at its estimated fair value														104,600,000
Proceeds from liquidation of investments											9,000,000	615,400,000
Weighted-Average Useful Lives										9 years																		8 years				14 years				5 years				11 years				7 years	7 years	13 years	3 years
Goodwill deductible for tax purposes											0																																	0
Risk-adjusted discount rate (as a percent)																		10.00%	11.00%
Interest rate on debt (as a percent)				1.375%	1.375%	2.50%	2.50%	1.50%	1.50%											1.375%	1.375%	2.50%	2.50%	1.50%	1.50%
Acquisition-related costs	7,899,000	7,505,000									32,200,000																																	2,900,000
Revenues of acquiree since acquisition date																																												35,200,000
Net earnings, net of tax of acquiree since acquisition date																																												$ 10,800,000