PSM's Briefing for the 118th Congress

Washington D.C., February 28, 2023

PSM held a briefing in Washington, DC on February 28, 2023.

PSM provided information about fake medicine in the U.S.

Flyers, glasses, and a photo of a teenager strewn across a dark blue tabletop.

Educational materials about fentanyl and fentanyl pills were also included.

Several people in conversation in front of a military portrait and poster about fake blood thinners in Mexico. A white haired, bespectacled man is sitting in the foreground.

Briefing guests gathered around 8am for the event.

two men in dark suits and a third in a dark sports coat talking in front of a military portrait and a stand up poster about fake blood thinners

Tom Kubic in conversation with briefing attendees.

A woman shaking hands with a man in a gray suit whose back is to the camera. A second woman looks on.

Shabbir Safdar meeting Tiffinee Scott of the Maryland Peer Advisory Council.

An older man in a dark suit and blue tie at a podium with a sign that reads The Partnership for Safe Medicines, The 118th Congress Counterfeit Drug Policy Briefing.

PSM Board President Tom Kubic opened the briefing.

Several men in suits and a woman in a dark sweater listen to someone off screen in a conference room

Senator Rick Scott, Shabbir Safdar, and others listening to Tom Kubic's opening remarks.

A bald, besuited man with a striped tie at a podium with a sign that reads The Partnership for Safe Medicines, The 118th Congress Counterfeit Drug Policy Briefing. One of his hands is outstretched.

Senator Rick Scott delivered a keynote about fentanyl pills and the fentanyl crisis.

People listening at the briefing with posters on stands behind them.

Shabbir Safdar, Natasha Butler-Williams and a guest.

Man gesticulating at a podium with the PSM logo visible.

Shabbir Safdar discussed recent counterfeit medicine incidents and the greater safety the DSCSA offers.

Two panelists at a table covered with white tablecloth bearing PSM's logo. A screen to the right displays the third panelist in conversation

Panel 1 focused on practical problems with importation.

Joelle Walker of the Canadian Pharmacists Association discussing Canada's drug shortages, a serious impediment to importation.

Oksana Pyzik of the London School of Pharmacy zoomed from the U.K. to discuss similar concerns.

5 people seated at a long table, two of them with photographs in front of them. People are seated in the foreground

Panel 2 focused on the fentanyl pill crisis and social media.

A woman in a peach colored sweater talking. In front of her stands a picture of a young teenager labeled Alexander Neville, May 4, 2006 -June 23, 2020

Family advocate Amy Neville lost her son Alex in 2020 to a fake pill from a Snapchat drug dealer.

A white haired man in black with a black cowboy hat speaking into a microphone. A bottle of water is to his right.

Sheriff Kieran Donahue has found social media platforms to be uncooperative in these investigations.

Two women and a man in a black cowboy hat are seated at a table with a white tablecloth emblazoned with PSM's logo. One of the woman is holding up a news paper.

Senator Marshall's staffer Charlotte Pineda spoke finding solutions through the Cooper Davis Act.

A woman in black with a microphone and a bottle of water in front of her. To her right is a picture of a young, bearded Black man in a white hat and clothes.

Natasha Butler-Williams shared the story of her son Jerome, who died in 2016 after unknowingly taking a fake Norco pill.

Photos by Sora DeVore

On Tuesday, February 28, 2023, the Partnership for Safe Medicines hosted a breakfast briefing in Washington, D.C., inviting pharmacists, law enforcement, policy experts and family advocates to educate legislators about key issues in the fight against counterfeit medicines.

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Watch highlights from the briefing above, and see the entire event below or on our YouTube playlist.

Then, learn more on our 118th Congress virtual briefing page.

Watch the Briefing

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Opening remarks by Tom Kubic (3 minutes)

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In his keynote, Senator Rick Scott expressed support for the families of counterfeit pill victims and highlighted legislation to help stop the flow of fentanyl into American communities. (12 minutes)

The DSCSA: Improving the Safety of Our Drug Supply Chain, PSM Executive Director Shabbir Safdar's review of recent counterfeit drug outbreaks and explanation of the Drug Supply Chain Security Act. (10 minutes)

Panel 1: "Foreign Drug Importation: What are the Impediments?" (23 minutes)

A discussion about the significant practical challenges to implementing state drug importation programs.

Speakers:

  • Oksana Pyzik, Pharmacist, Global Health Advisor at the University College London School of Pharmacy and Academic Chair of the Fight The Fakes Alliance
  • Joelle Walker, Public Affairs VP for the Canadian Pharmacists Association
  • Shabbir Safdar, Moderator

Panel 2: "The Fentanyl Pill Epidemic" (42 minutes)

A panel about the terrible impact of fentanyl pills, how social media adds to the problem, and the Cooper Davis Act, which aims to address it.

Speakers:

  • Natasha Butler-Williams, family advocate and mother of Jerome Butler
  • Kieran Donahue, Canyon County, Idaho Sheriff and Vice President of the National Sheriff’s Association
  • Amy Neville, family advocate and founder of the Alexander Neville Foundation
  • Charlotte Pineda, Health Policy Director for Senator Roger Marshall, M.D.
  • Shabbir Safdar, Moderator