PSM applauds NNOAC statement of concern about Canadian drug importation
The Partnership for Safe Medicines, a nonprofit committed to the safety of prescription drugs and protecting consumers against counterfeit, substandard or otherwise unsafe medicines, welcomed the statement from the National Narcotic Officers Associations' Coalition (NNOAC) expressing their concerns about the impact of foreign prescription drug importation, such as the program recently approved for the state of Florida by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
"Every law enforcement officer in the country has been professionally and personally affected by the impact of dangerous counterfeit medicines such as those containing fentanyl." said Shabbir Imber Safdar, executive director of PSM. "We have also seen counterfeit blood thinners and HIV medicines make their way to patients in recent months. These counterfeit therapeutics kill, not with fentanyl, but by having no active ingredient."
Almost all prescription medicine in the U.S. requires a serial number and ownership record keeping, which aids law enforcement and healthcare professionals in verifying that medicine is authentic. No other country uses the U.S. Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) serial number system.
PSM's executive director recently held an extensive conversation with three law enforcement experts who work at both the national and local levels to discuss the challenges and dangers of counterfeit medicine. Whether trying to intercept counterfeit medicines at the border or dismantling these criminal counterfeit rings locally, the law enforcement experts all agreed deadly fake pills are one of the most dangerous threats Americans face today.
For more information and to find resources about counterfeit drugs and more, visit safemedicines.org or contact editors@safemedicines.org.