Article Topic
Federal Agents Break Up Large Counterfeit Pill Rings in Stockton and Newport Beach, California
Eight people in Stockton have been indicted after an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) of over 50 overdoses in the Sacramento area in 2016 that included 12 deaths. The Sacramento Bee reports that the large-scale counterfeit pill making operation in Stockton was turning out thousands of counterfeit prescription pills made with fentanyl, methamphetamine,…
[...]KANSAS: Pills Seized in October 2018 Were Counterfeits Testing Shows
Thirty-one light blue pills seized in a drug investigation were identified by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation as counterfeits made with fentanyl in the first week of June, 2019. The pills were marked with the markings of legitimate oxycodone. The Parson Sun reports that the pills were discovered in a Parsons, KS, motel room on…
[...]Boyfriend Who Gave His Girlfriend The Counterfeit Pill That Killed Her Sentenced to Four Years in Prison
Read our 2018 information sheet about counterfeit drugs in Illinois. On March 21, 2019, 22-year-old Jacob Reis of Cary, Illinois pleaded guilty to charges he gave his 19-year-old girlfriend, Rachel Ramirez, a deadly fentanyl-laced counterfeit pill that killed her, the Northwest Herald reports. According to a 2018 article in the Northwest Herald, Reis and another…
[...]Drug Importation threatens people with chronic illnesses, says advocate.
This editorial by Guy Anthony was published in the Orlando Sentinel on June 12, 2019. Anthony, President and CEO of Black, Gifted & Whole, a nonprofit focused on issues surrounding black, queer men, warns that drug importation will open up “a market for dangerous, counterfeit drugs” that will make it harder for people to live with HIV and other complex illnesses.
[...]New PSM ad reminds us that politics should never take precedence over safety when it comes to medicine.
We’ve all heard politicians promise cheaper drugs imported from other countries, but are they just saying that because we want to hear it? Do they have any expertise that suggests they know how to make such a system safe?
[...]Canadian Policy Researcher Warns That Importation Plans By U.S. States Would Leave Canada Without Crucial Medicines
This editorial by Nigel Rawson was published in The Hills Times on June 9, 2019. Dr. Rawson, president of Eastlake Research Group, a senior fellow at the Fraser Institute, and an affiliated scholar with the Canadian Health Policy Institute, warns that Canada would run out of necessary medicine if U.S. states begin drug importation programs…
[...]PSM responds to AMA resolution #129 (A-19) on Mexico drug importation – June 9, 2019
Recently the Partnership for Safe Medicines learned of and responded to a proposed resolution for the American Medical Association’s House of Delegates regarding importation of medicine from the Mexican drug supply and PSM’s response. Resolution a19-r129 Benefits of Importation of Pharmaceuticals PSM Response to AMA Resolution_ 129 (importing prescription drugs from Mexico)
[...]Former DEA Agent on how drug importation will exacerbate the opioid crisis
Former DEA agent Doug Herber wrote this editorial, which was published on May 31, 2019 in the White Mountain Independent. In it, he writes that drug importation will cause “patients [to] unwittingly purchase foreign counterfeit drugs disguised as low-level medication, unaware of the dangers, end up as an overdose statistic. “
[...]Former State Pharmacy Board Presidents Warn That Drug Importation Won’t Keep Costs Down
This editorial by Holly Strom and Kenneth Schell published in U.S. News and World Report on May 28, 2019 warns states considering drug importation that doing so will not keep costs down and also poses a safety risk to patients…
[...]Florida Agency for Health Care Administration releases Request for Information for Canadian Prescription Drug Importation Program
Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration released a Request for Information for a Canadian Prescription Drug Importation Program. It specifically asked “The Agency is seeking information from entities with direct experience in coordinating all aspects of Canadian prescription drug importation. ” Responses are due June 25, 2019. Read the RFI
[...]