What Canadians Are Saying About Drug Importation, January – December 2019

What Canadians Are Saying About Drug Importation January 2019 – December 2019 Download a copy of this page. Canadians worried by plan to let Americans import drugs (8/1/2019) “It’s clear to us that whatever measures need to be put in place to prevent, for example, large-scale importation by online pharmacies or large-scale importation by large…

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HHS Announces Dangerous Draft Regulations for Importing Drugs from Canada

Partnership for Safe Medicines Statement on Proposed Regulations to Import Prescription Medicines from Canada Washington, D.C. (December 18, 2019) – Shabbir Safdar, executive director of the Partnership for Safe Medicines, released the following statement in response to today’s announcement by the Trump Administration and the proposed regulations to allow importation of prescription medicines: “Citizens of…

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PSM’s Executive Director Speaks on Morning Wakeup with Dave Akerly to Warn Michigan Residents about the Dangers of Drug Importation

PSM’s Executive Director Shabbir Safdar spoke with Dave Akerly on WILS in Lansing, Michigan about the importation proposal currently being debated in the Michigan House of Representatives. Safdar was enroute to the Michigan State House to participate in hearings on drug importation being held there. Here why our Executive Director has travelled to Michigan to testify at their drug importation hearing.

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Canadian Doctors, Pharmacists, Patient Groups and Government Representatives Consider State Importation Proposals Unfeasible

In spite of recent efforts by legislators in Florida, Maine, Colorado, and elsewhere, Canadian patient groups are vocally opposing pending legislation that proposes importing prescription medications from the Canadian drug supply. Paul Blanchard of the New Brunswick Pharmacists’ Association told CBC News, “The country’s pharmacists association has been talking to the federal government … to make sure that the federal government and Canada is aware that the Americans are literally knocking on our door.”

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How do you test whether a medication is legitimate?

Infographic showing how medication is tested.

Testing medicine for legitimacy is a complicated process. Across 24 different prescription medicines, the average cost to test a single dose is $2,750. However, ensuring that a batch of 100 pills is safe requires testing at least 22 pills. To learn more about this topic, read PSM’s summary: safedr.ug/Acri-Explained.

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PSM, Partners Host Fall 2019 Congressional Briefings About Counterfeit Drug Dangers

PSM's briefing speakers and family members of victims gather in front of the U.S. Capitol

On September 24, 2019, the Partnership for Safe Medicines and 19 partner organizations held two congressional briefings about the real dangers counterfeit drugs pose to Americans, offering a clear picture of why importation cannot solve the problem of high drug prices in the U.S.:

Canada does not have enough prescription drugs to share with U.S.patients, and organized crime is poised to expand the counterfeit drug trade into the U.S. to bridge the gap without regard for the health and safety of U.S. residents. “The money to be made is far too great to worry about human life.”

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Myth: We are getting the same drugs Canadians take

In 2014, during a two-year period when Maine was experimenting with drug importation, the president of Maine’s Pharmacy Association purchased medications from an online pharmacy for testing. The drugs he received were not approved for the Canadian or U.S. markets. Worse, they were poor quality: two of them were the wrong strength, and the other was contaminated.

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