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Counterfeit Pill Drug Ring In San Antonio Sold Over 800,000 Fake Pills In Two Years
Recent news out of Texas gave updates on the cases against three men who were part of a major counterfeit pill ring busted in San Antonio in 2017. The ringleader entered a guilty plea and faces up to 30 years in prison, a supplier received a 21-year sentence, and a distributor waits to see what his future holds…
[...]New Jersey Legislature Works to Increase Penalties for Drug Counterfeiters
In June, the New Jersey Assembly passed A-5037, a bill that increases penalties for those who create, distribute or administer counterfeit, adulterated or misbranded medical drugs and devices. The legislation, which has been sent to the New Jersey Senate’s Budget and Appropriations Committee, would make the sale of more than 100 units of fake medicine punishable by a sentence of five to ten years, a fine of up to $150,000, or both.
[...]Drug Distribution Experts Warn That State Plans To Import Foreign Drugs Will Undermine Safety
This editorial by Adam Fein and Dirk Rodgers was published in Stat News on July 11, 2019. In it, Fein and Rodgers warn that plans by states to create drug importation programs will open new pathways for counterfeit drugs to enter the U.S. drug supply chain…
[...]June Was a Dangerous Month in Arizona as Over 130,000 Fake Pills Made with Fentanyl Seized Throughout State
A series of eight different busts in Arizona this month has yielded approximately 132,000 counterfeit pills made with fentanyl, with seizures happening all across the Grand Canyon state.
[...]Importation Is An Opportunity For Organized Crime to Expand Counterfeit Drug Profits, DEA Veteran Says
This editorial by retired DEA agent Douglas Hebert was published in The Arizona Capital Times ,on June 27, 2019. In it, Hebert explains how drug importation programs will help organized crime expand their $200 billion-a-year counterfeit pharmaceutical industry into the U.S., at the expense of Americans.
[...]National Pharmacy Organizations Ask HHS Secretary Azar for Clarity on Drug Importation Proposals
On June 24, 2019, the National Alliance of State Pharmacy Associations (NASPA), along with the American Pharmacists Association (APhA), and the National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) wrote a joint letter to U.S. Health and Human Services (HSS) Secretary Alex Azar questioning the wisdom of poorly thought-out importation proposals.
[...]Retired Canadian law enforcement official urges the New York Legislature: “Step Away” from dangerous drug importation proposal
In this editorial, which was published in Crain’s New York Business on June 19, 2019, Canadian law enforcement veteran Don Bell explains that the New York Legislature’s effort to establish a wholesale prescription drug importation program, is “a gigantic loophole that criminals will pounce on to traffic counterfeit drugs into the state.”
[...]“Canada cannot act as a drugstore for the United States,” says academic
In this editorial, which was published by the Fraser Institute on June 13, 2019, economist Dr. Kristina Acri argues against importation, concluding: “Diverting drugs meant for Canadian patients to the U.S. through state importation schemes will create shortages for Canadian patients and increase pressure on potentially unscrupulous suppliers to source drugs from wherever they can, opening the door to counterfeiters.”
[...]Florida man Convicted for Manufacturing and Selling Hundreds of Thousands of Counterfeit Oxycodone
On June 7, 2019, a federal jury found Dion Gregory Fisher, 33, of Seminole, FL, guilty of conspiring to manufacture and distribute fentanyl and fentanyl analogue, guilty of five counts of fentanyl distribution and manufacturing and eight counts of committing money laundering transactions involving more than $10,000 of narcotics proceeds.
[...]Peer-reviewed journal article estimates 300,000 child fatalities annually due to counterfeit medication
The Partnership for Safe Medicines and the Alliance for Safe Online Pharmacies (ASOP Global), two public health advocacy groups focused on patient safety and the secure pharmaceutical supply chain, released an infographic today to call attention to the human toll that counterfeit medicines take on children in low and middle income countries.
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