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July 31, 2023: Men sentenced for selling Americans fentanyl and fentanyl pills from a Canadian prison
Federal judges sentenced two men who ran a fentanyl ring from a Canadian prison, a pharmaceutical exec who trafficked fake cough syrup, and a black market drug trafficker. Additional stories about counterfeit pills and related casualties in 21 states.
[...]July 24, 2023: Another “Operation Denial” defendant sentenced. Counterfeit scorpion antivenom warning issued in Mexico.
Pill presses prohibited in Washington state. WHO issued an alert about counterfeit cough syrup. Jury convicted four in Florida who peddled bogus COVID-19 cure. Prosecutions in 11 states involved the trafficking of counterfeit pills and related deaths.
[...]July 17, 2023: The Cooper Davis Act heads out of committee
Legislation moves forward in the Senate for social media platforms to report dealers to the DEA. A Shanghai resident sentenced for selling counterfeit cat medicine. Missouri resident sentenced for injecting clients with non-FDA-approved Botox and fillers, hurting multiple people. Stories of counterfeit pills in 17 states.
[...]Cooper Davis Act (S.1080) passes out of Senate Judiciary committee, headed to Senate floor
S.1080, which requires big tech platforms to report drug dealers they discover to the DEA, passed out of the Judiciary committee and is headed to the Senate floor.
[...]July 10, 2023: Federal operation seized unapproved medicines and medical devices at international mail facilities
Global coalition launched to combat synthetic drugs. One-third of packages examined in Operation Broader Sword contained unapproved medicines, medical devices, or precursor chemicals. Prosecutions in seven states involved the trafficking of fentanyl pills and related deaths.
[...]FDA Alert: Suprimo Imports Warned by FDA After Reports of Illness and Death Due to Prescription Drug Ingredients in Their Dietary Supplements.
“On April 20, 2022, FDA warned consumers not to purchase or use “Artri Ajo King” as FDA has received adverse event reports, including of liver toxicity and death, associated with the use of “Artri Ajo King” and similarly named products. While the Agency has not sampled and tested this product from your inventory to date, be advised of our serious concern about the safety of these products and that it is your legal responsibility under federal law to ensure this product does not contain any undeclared and potentially harmful ingredients.”
[...]June 12, 2023: FDA reports show the agency working hard to secure our drug supply.
The FDA increased facility inspections 44% in 2022 and prevented 222 drug shortages. Men in Colorado and Virginia were sentenced for distributing unapproved prescription drugs. News about drug seizures and prosecutions trafficking counterfeit pills in 22 states.
[...]June 5, 2023: NJ Doctor who Sold an Industrial Chemical as a Weight Loss Drug Sentenced.
William Merlino, whose weight loss products killed a U.K. man, will serve almost 3 years in prison. The U.S. imposed sanctions on pill press makers in China and New Mexico. Regulators found more fake semaglutide—this time in Australia. Prosecutions and pill and pill press seizures in 24 states.
[...]May 30, 2023: North Carolina raises penalties for making counterfeit controlled pills.
North Carolina made using a pill press to make counterfeit controlled pills a felony. Black market and fake medicines were reported in Canada and Mexico. More news involved counterfeit or illegally imported pills in 22 states.
[...]Texas State Senate Passes Dangerous Foreign Drug Importation Program
With the passage of HB 25 in the Texas State Senate and Governor Abbott’s impending signature, Texas is poised to become the seventh state in the U.S. to attempt to create a program to import medicine from Canada. This policy has failed in six other states, cost taxpayers millions of dollars, and drawn opposition from the Canadian government.
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