News Coverage
The Partnership for Safe Medicines has been publishing information about the counterfeit drug problem around the world for more than a decade. With experts leading the organization and a committed and passionate set of writers and editors, our content is more in-depth than many other sources, which simply copy links to the news from other websites.
A federal grand jury handed down an indictment against the man who was a source of counterfeit 30-milligram Roxicodone pills being sold in the Atlanta, Georgia area. Edward Culton supplied pills to a deal who would find buyers by advertising them on Instagram. One man died and a woman was poisoned after they took pills sold to them by that dealer…
In a brutal month spanning March 23 to April 23, 2016, fourteen people in the Sacramento area died of suspected drug overdoses, and 38 others were poisoned. At the beginning authorities had no idea why there was a sudden spike in overdose deaths and suspected “contaminated drugs.” They would not know until the month was out and the recovered pills had been analyzed that these deaths were caused by counterfeit pills made with deadly fentanyl. One of those who was lost was a 28-year-old father of three, Jerome Butler.
Second man indicted in the counterfeit fentanyl pill death of Jonathan Ellington in Colorado. Prosecutors believe that Bruce Holder was not just involved, but is the man who is responsible for smuggling the counterfeit oxycodone pills into the U.S. from Mexico. Ellington’s death may not be the only one caused by these fake fentanyl pills…
A newly formed task for on Long Island made their first arrest of a man who allegedly ran a drug ring that sold counterfeit oxycodone pills made with fentanyl. Between May and July, 2018, Ismail Latif sold a confidential source over 1,000 counterfeit oxycodone pills. The deals were made at one of several houses, one time inside a CVS pharmacy, and another time at a Mobile gas station…
Canada continues to battle its own fentanyl crisis. Nearly 4,000 Canadians lost their lives to opioids last year, with 68% of the deaths involving fentanyl. Counterfeit pills and fentanyl have been found in every province and territory…
In another example of why it is important to ask your pharmacist if paying cash might cost less than using your insurance with a prescription, a couple paid $285 for a 90-day supply of pills that they could have gotten for only $40 cash somewhere else…
U. S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents, during a routine inspection, discovered 50 kilograms (110 pounds) of illicit fentanyl powder that had been hidden in a shipment of iron oxide from China. According to CBP, a narcotics detector dog alerted agents to the presence of the drugs inside barrels of iron oxide that had arrived at the facility in late June.
There are certainly things we can learn from other countries’ healthcare successes, but importation is not the right approach.
WSB-TV Atlanta shared a story about Federal agents in Roswell conducting an investigation into the distribution of fentanyl pills disguised as prescription medication. During their warranted search of a property in North Hall County, investigators discovered a cache of guns, a large amount of counterfeit “Xanax” pills, and raw materials for pill making more.
The trial of Aaron Shamo, the Utah man accused of running a major fentanyl pill manufacturing and distribution ring, has been pushed back until 2019. Almost two years ago, prosecutors were investigating 28 deaths potentially tied to this case, and now they have indicated they intend to file a superseding indictment which will include a “death-count” change…
This distressing situation shows that deadly fentanyl analogues are killing Americans who are using laced non-opioid prescriptions.
Richard Henry of Grand Junction, Colorado was arrested after law enforcement officers from multiple agencies found a pill press, hundreds each of fake Xanax and “small blue pills” made with fentanyl, and assortment of other powders in the closet of his apartment. This story is one of many recently in the news pointing to the fact that counterfeit fentanyl pills are a growing problem in western Colorado…
An Arizona grand jury has handed down indictments for the two men arrested in May. Prosecutors allege that Octavio Gutierrez-Hernandez and Jorge Bazan were trafficking more than 2,000 fentanyl pills pressed with an “M30” imprint, which is what is typically stamped on oxycodone pills.
In this August 21, 2018 editorial for the Havre Daily News Canada Border Services Agency and the Ontario Provincial Police veteran Don Bell talks about the need for Canada and the United States to work together to combat counterfeit drugs.
The U.S. Department of Justice unsealed a 43-count indictment against Fujing Zheng and Guanghua Zheng of Shanghai, China for operating a company that illegally imported drugs – including fentanyl – into the U.S. When asked by undercover law enforcement if the Zhengs could manufacture counterfeit pills, including oxycodone, Adderall, and two cancer medicines – Tarceva and Afinitor – each time the Zhengs said they could…
On August 8, 2018, the National Sheriffs’ Association wrote the President to oppose prescription drug importation. Importing drugs from other countries, they say, “jeopardizes law enforcement’s ability to protect the public health and endangers the safety of law enforcement and other first responders.”
For the second time since May, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced issuing warning letters to online network operations that were marketing illicit opioids to American citizens. In this most recent group, four companies operating a total of 21 websites were told they needed stop selling those pills. The number of websites to receive warnings this summer is over 70…
Deputies from the Walton County Georgia Sheriff’s Office disrupted four men attempting to move their counterfeit pill operation into their county. Austin Marshall, Jakob Sullins, Nicholas Felker, and Timothy Ballard were arrested before they even had the chance to unload their pill press that was capable of making 16,000 pills in one hour…
Carrie Luther, who lost her son to counterfeit Xanax made with fentanyl three years ago, travelled to Tennessee with Partnership for Safe Medicines Executive Director Shabbir Safdar to share her story with the Healthy Tennessee Opioid Summit.
MedicineSafe.org, a website launched by the Center for Safe Internet Pharmacies (CSIP) and the Partnership for Drug-Free Kids, is a new resource that Americans can use to educate themselves on prescription drug safety and the opioid crisis. On the website, you will find the Verify Before You Buy tool and learn how to safely store and dispose medicines along with many other important topics…
As a licensed pharmacist, I’m all too familiar with patients’ difficulties getting medications they need and their physician has prescribed. As baby boomers age, pharmacists see more patients at our counters unable to obtain needed treatments for heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and other chronic illnesses. This issue is now being acknowledged and a healthy debate has begun over possible solutions. But one idea policymakers shouldn’t pursue is opening up our country’s secure drug supply to medicines coming from outside our borders.
The U.S. Department of Justice indicted three men in Utah for the death of Jaydon Rogers earlier this year. Adam Patrick Hemmelgarn, Tyler Jabbar Perry, and Christian Scott Jimerson allegedly sold the counterfeit fentanyl pill to Rogers who was found unresponsive and died two days later at the hospital…
Generic drug discount programs – available at a wide range of drugstores and pharmacies across the country – offer an array of commonly prescribed medications for only a few dollars a month. It doesn’t take long to learn which stores in your area have programs and you can be saving in no time by paying cash instead of using your insurance…
A Petaluma woman sits in jail awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to felony child-endangerment in the April death of her 16-year-old son. The teenager died as the result of ingesting a counterfeit Xanax pill containing fentanyl. His mother is facing up to 12 years in prison when sentenced. Her co-defendant in the case has been arraigned but has yet to face trial.
Although the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Customs and Border Protection work hard to keep counterfeit medicines and fentanyl pills out of the U.S., they do still get in. Fake pharmaceuticals and personal care products were the seventh most frequently seized item in fiscal year 2017, and the increase of illicit fentanyl is only mirrored by the increase in the number of deaths caused by synthetic opioids…
The Partnership for Safe Medicines (PSM) announced at the event hosted by U.S. Representative Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) that counterfeit pills made with illegally-imported fentanyl have now been found in 44 states and, with the recent death of an Idaho man, fatalities tied to counterfeit drugs have now occurred in 26 states.
Over the course of one week, the San Ysidro Port of Entry near San Diego, California saw a new record-breaking fentanyl pills seizure of almost 11,500 pills be beaten by an even newer record of over 20,000. Customs and Border Protection arrested and charged two U.S. citizens with trying to smuggle these pills into the country…
The U.S. DOJ indicted Christopher Huggett of Grand Junction, Colorado on one count of distributing fentanyl that resulted in death and one count of distributing fentanyl that resulted in serious bodily harm. Huggett allegedly sold counterfeit pain pills made with fentanyl. Emergency medical services were not able to revive Jonathan Ellington of Carbondale. The second victim is lucky to be alive…
The impact on Canada’s health care system could be devastating. In the aftermath of a previous American proposal, a 2010 study on the potential effects of exporting Canada’s drug supply to the US concluded that “if 10% of the US prescriptions were filled from Canadian sources (manufacturer, wholesale or retail), Canada’s 2007 drug supply would be exhausted in 224 days.”
A 2018 follow-up study reached similar conclusions. Such studies are all but ignored by US clinicians who urge importing drugs from Canada, and who are strangely oblivious to the fact that supplying an American patient could mean taking that same drug away from someone who needs it in Canada.
New details emerge about a counterfeit Xanax drug ring in North Carolina headed by three brothers. Indictments of two more members and additional locations that the ring used to produce fake Xanax pills using fentanyl. This ring was a major supplier to a high school in the area…
Quantum Solutions was sentenced for illegally importing wholesale quantities of misbranded prescription drugs into the U.S. and selling them to pharmacies. They ran 241 “Canadian pharmacy” websites, including Canada Drugs Center which Professor Kenneth McCall ordered three prescriptions from so that he could test what was in the pills. Two did not have enough active ingredient and one contained an unknown contaminant…
A new documentary called “Killer Curves: Bodies to Die For” showed how dangerous, and even deadly, it can be to get silicone butt injections. Sidney Star, K. Michelle, Apryl Michelle Brown, and Anivia Cruz all spoke about their regrets and the damage those shots did to their bodies…
Law enforcement in Arizona has seen the amount of seized fentanyl powder increase by 2,000 and the number of fentanyl pills increase by 3,000 in just one year. Despite the increased seizures, the number of lives lost in that state to opioid overdoses also continues to rise. With fake pills being reported across the state – in Kingman, Phoenix, and Tucson, no pill bought on the street can be considered safe…
The year-long Operation Dark Gold operation netted charges against 35 individuals selling drugs online. Included in this list are five people from New York – Jian Qu, Raymond Weng, Kai Wu, Dimitri Tseperkas, and Chiad Akkaya- who sold multiple types of drugs and were found in possession of four pill presses and over 12 kilos of suspected counterfeit Xanax pills…
Between 2007 and 2018 Foreign Wholesalers Sold American Doctors Unreliable Black Market Cancer Drugs
From 2007 to 2018 American physicians and clinics demonstrated that drug importation is not safe and is extremely difficult to make safe. Doctors thought they were saving money. Instead they purchased illegally imported, expired, damaged and outright counterfeit medications—including cancer treatments—from black market wholesalers posing as licensed distributors in Canada and other countries.
The safest and best place any American can buy their prescription drugs from is a U.S. licensed pharmacy. However, not all pharmacies charge the same amount for the same prescription. You can save money by comparing prices around town…
U.S. Department of Justice announced an indictment against Alfredo Sanchez and Saybyn Borges for distribution and possession with intent to distribute counterfeit oxycodone pills that were made with fentanyl. In just over one month’s time, the DEA says the pair sold over 7,500 fake pills…
Law enforcement in New Mexico is worried after seeing an increase in the number of counterfeit pills made with fentanyl that are being found. The state lost over 20 people to fake oxycodone pills in 2016 and U.S. Customs and Border Protection keeps seeing the amount of fentanyl they are seizing increase…
In this August 1, 2018 editorial for Inside Sources, National Association of Boards of Pharmacy Director Carmen Catizone raises the alarm about ICANN’s proposed changes to the WHOIS system, a database that identifies the owners of web domains. These changes are meant to bring WHOIS in compliance with new European privacy laws but, he warns, they would also impede law enforcement and others’ efforts to “connect the dots and link up different websites run as part of large criminal enterprises” like drug counterfeiting rings.
The U.S. Department of Justice indicted Gino Carl von Eckstein after he was found in possession of counterfeit Adderall pills he manufactured using methamphetamine. A search of his car and several properties turned up fake pills, additional powder, and two pills presses needed to make the pills…
The U.S. Department of Justice indicted a woman in south Florida who was illegally injecting silicone into the bodies of her clients for body contouring purposes. The FDA has never approved silicone injects for this purpose due possible consequences including pulmonary embolism, infection, chest pain, and death…
The former president of Cumberland Distribution, Inc. was sentenced to 15 years in prison for his role in a 32-month long scheme that saw over $50 million of diverted drugs shipped to pharmacies around the country, according to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). Indicted in January 2013 along with co-conspirators Charles Jeffrey Edwards and…
A pretrial bail hearing gave the world some insights into a case out of South Carolina that is still sealed. Agents with a DEA-lead task force arrested Eric Hughes in August of 2017 after a car accident caused thousands of plls to spill out of his vehicle and onto the roadway. Hughes is allegedly the leader of a counterfeit pill drug ring that used rental properties to manufacture millions of counterfeit Xanax and oxycodone pills which were sold online…
Police arrested triplet brothers in North Carolina on suspicion of manufacturing and selling counterfeit Xanax that contained fentanyl. An investigation led police to believe the trio to be a major supplier of those pills to Holly Springs High School students…
Newly released court documents show the role that Steven Barros Pinto played in an international drug ring that made and sold fake fentanyl pills across the United States, including in North Dakota, Oregon, North Carolina, Florida, Colorado, Maryland, Rhode Island, New Jersey, and Georgia. The DOJ believes that the counterfeit pills made by this ring with fentanyl and other illegal ingredients caused multiple deaths or serious injuries in North Carolina, New Jersey, and Oregon…
The U.S. Department of Justice announced that Kelly Luanne Schaible pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of wire fraud and one count of introduction of misbranded medical devices into interstate commerce. Schaible operated numerous websites that sold $2.3 million in non FDA-approved and misbranded Botox and Juvederm…
In a first case of its kind, the U.S. Department of Justice indicted two people from New Jersey for operating multiple fake online pharmacies that shipped some customers counterfeit pills made with fentanyl. The pills that Evelin Bracy and Jorge Rodriguez Lopez sold killed one of their customers in Boise, Idaho…
The U.S. Department of Justice announced indictments against a New Jersey mother and son for their roles in a drug trafficking conspiracy. Candace and Tyler Gottlieb both sold counterfeit pain pills that contained both fentanyl and heroin to a confidential human source…
Washington (July 19, 2018) – Shabbir Imber Safdar, executive director of the Partnership for Safe Medicines, released the following statement regarding today’s announcement by the Department of Health and Human Services to create a drug importation working group at FDA: “We are deeply concerned about today’s announcement, particularly given the deaths of Americans in at…
The U.S. Department of Justice announced another guilty plea from the second co-owner of a dietary supplement company based out of Corpus Christi, Texas. Vanessa Gonzales admitted to purchasing pills produced in China that contained undeclared or banned pharmaceutical ingredients…
For the last 15 years, the FDA and HHS have opposed drug importation for safety reasons, but there is another question that is often overlooked: If a pharmacy inadvertently distributes a counterfeit drug it legally purchased from a foreign wholesaler, can the pharmacist be held liable? A 2004 lawsuit, Fagan v. AmerisourceBergen Co, raises disquieting questions.
The U.S. DOJ announced that Nathan Ott of Chambersburg, PA received a 210-month prison sentence. Ott pleaded guilty to purchasing fentanyl by the kilogram online and using it to manufacture counterfeit pills which he and his six co-defendants then sold online and around town…
Kelly Gant is a young woman in Missouri overcoming an addiction to what she thought was Xanax. After being hospitalized for an overdose, she was shocked to learn that she did not overdose on alprazolam, but on fentanyl. It was then that she began to learn more about the bags filled with hundreds of pills that her dealer sold to high school students…
Looking to lower your prescription drug costs? How do you make sure you are not purchasing counterfeit drugs? Learn the signs of a bad online pharmacy and how you can stay safe and get the best price on legitimate FDA-approved medicine…
The U.S. Department of Justice announced an indictment against Kamil Golebioswki. The Connecticut man has various charges against him all stemming from his alleged illegal sale of counterfeit drugs. Golebioswki is believed to have sold the fake Xanax pill that was a contributing cause to a 29-year-old man’s death…
A mother in Indiana recently spoke about the pain of losing her 24-year-old daughter to a counterfeit oxycodone pill that was made with carfentanil. She is warning others about the dangers of fake prescription pills because, “I’m trying one person at a time. I couldn’t save mine, but I can try to help save the next one”…
The U.S. Department of Justice announced that Florida doctor Johnny C. Benjamin, Jr. received a life sentence after being convicted on five counts by a jury in April. Benjamin manufactured counterfeit pain pills, one of which killed Maggie Crowley…
This editorial by Dr. Warren Willey was published in Idaho State Journal on July 7, 2018. Dr. Willey is an osteopathic physician who lives and works in Pocatello, Idaho. Dr. Willey says counterfeit drugs are becoming more commonplace and that people need to only purchase their medications from within the U.S.’s secure drug supply chain…
A doctor in Oregon, Brenda Roberts, pleaded guilty in federal court to purchasing non FDA-approved anti-wrinkle cosmetic injectables and using them on her clients. An affidavit in the case also states that she operated a rogue online pharmacy that distributed controlled substances to customers throughout the United States…
The U.S. DEA held a first-of-its-kind training session in Tampa, Florida to teach local law enforcement officers the proper techniques and steps to safely process a crime scene when fentanyl is present. An officer said that additional training sessions will be held in the future…
The Center for Safe Internet Pharmacies issued a report detailing the ease at which opioids are available for sale online. The research performed by LegitScript shows how shockingly simple it is to buy opioids and substances like fentanyl on the Internet…
In Washington state, law enforcement agencies are finding counterfeit pills made with fentanyl all around the state. In Tri-Cities, the DEA raided several properties after concerns about the increase of fake fentanyl pills being sold on the street. Over in Seattle, it is a battle just to figure out what all these counterfeit pills are made with. Increasingly, it is heroin and fentanyl…
Rene Soriano of Brownsville, Texas entered a plea of not guilty in federal court to charges that he imported and sold counterfeit drugs online via websites like Facebook and Craigslist since 2013…
A federal indictment unsealed against a Maryland man who authorities allege manufactured and sold counterfeit Xanax pills online dating back until at least November 2013. On top of prison time, the U.S. DOJ asked Ryan Farace to be required to forfeit multiple properties and tens of millions of dollars…
Police arrested David Worth Steele and Lisa Johnson Wolford in Mt. Airy, North Carolina after after a police search of their home turned up an array of drugs, including 900 suspected counterfeit Roxicodone pills…
A major drug ring that operated in both North and South Carolina has been busted. 17 homes were searched, 14 people indicted and 11 are already in custody. Police suspect that the raid spooked someone because they dumped 7,000 fentanyl pills on a street…
Canada Drugs isn’t the only online pharmacy that puts patients’ lives in serious jeopardy. The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy recently examined more than 11,000 online pharmacies and found that 96 percent were operating illegally.
LIKE ALL drug scourges, the fentanyl epidemic that claims so many lives every day is a matter of supply and demand. The demand, alas, is made in America. The supply, by contrast, is overwhelmingly imported, with a key source being China, where a poorly regulated cottage industry makes the stuff, takes orders over the Internet and ships it via international mail to the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Today, the U.S. House of Representatives came together across party lines to pass the Synthetics Trafficking and Overdose Prevention (STOP) Act, introduced by Representatives Mike Bishop (R-MI) and Bill Pascrell (D-NJ), by a vote of 353-52. The bill now heads to the Senate for debate and passage.
The introduction of fentanyl and the ever-growing list of its analogues has devastated communities across America, but also created a new sort of drug kingpin. This kingpin uses their knowledge of chemistry to make minor changes to the chemical structure of the drugs that they sell in an attempt to stay one step ahead of the law…
Earlier this month, in the midst of an opioid epidemic ravaging the state, Vermont’s legislature voted to legalize buying drugs from Canada, where government-set price controls keep prices artificially low.
The U.S. Department of Justice announced indictments against ten additional defendants for their roles in a major fentanyl trafficking case, bringing the total number of people charged o 32. This conspiracy had participants in China, Canada, and the United States…
Law enforcement agencies throughout Ohio have been finding counterfeit prescription pills that are made with illicit street drugs including fentanyl. They want to remind the public that any drug purchased on the street, including pills that look like real prescription medicines, could kill you…
Three new admissions of guilt in court in the major counterfeit pill case that happened in Utah. Alexandrya Tonge, Sean Gygi, and Katherine Bustin all admitted to their roles in the production and distribution of counterfeit pain pill containing fentanyl and counterfeit alprazolam…
In this editorial, which was published in The Arizona Republic on June 7, 2018, former Pinal County, AZ sheriff Paul Babeu argues that criminal smugglers from Mexico and China are a driving force in the United States’ fentanyl crisis.
In a June 7, 2018 editorial for The Hill, Former FBI deputy assistant director and Pharmaceutical Security Institute President Thomas Kubic argues that current sentences and penalties are not strong enough to deter criminal drug importation: “It boils down to this, if an entity — be it an organization or person — opts to engage in activities involving illegal distribution chains, there should be consequences, often certain, swift, and overwhelmingly punitive.”
The FDA sent nine online networks that operate 53 different websites selling illicit opioids warning letters telling them they must stop illegally marketing to American citizens or face enforcement action…
Partnership for Safe Medicines Announces Creation of Fentanyl Council to Spotlight Impact on U.S. Law Enforcement, Explore Proliferation of Pill Presses
The DOJ recently sentenced Jacob Hubbs of South Dakota to 70-months in federal prison for his role in a conspiracy in which purchased counterfeit pain pills made with fentanyl were distributed in that state and beyond…
Mario Noble, one of the defendants charged as a member of the Utah-based counterfeit fentanyl pill operation allegedly run by Aaron Shamo, has admitted his role in the operation in court and is looking for a plea deal…
The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office recently concluded an investigation that began in early 2018, ended with the arrest of Octavio Gutierrez-Hernandez and Jorge Bazan, and 8,000 counterfeit fentanyl pills taken off the streets…
In this May 31, 2018 editorial for The Daily Caller, pharmacoeconomic expert Dr. Marv Shepherd explains the concrete reasons why the importation of drugs from other countries as a means to lowering prices in the U.S. is both unsafe and economically unsound.
The city of Los Angeles is continuing its fight against illegal and counterfeit medicines being sold in stores in the area. This investigation brought in over 430,000 illicit doses of fake medicines and saw three lawsuits filed against eight people…
The DOJ announced that Cathine Lavina Sellers of Roswell, Georgia received a three year prison sentence after she pleaded guilty in court earlier this year to selling counterfeit pills that contained fentanyl, furanyl-fentanyl, and U-47700…
The DOJ indicted three residents of Ohio after they were caught with 1,500 counterfeit oxycodone pills that were made with fentanyl. Gerald Bowerman, Emmet Nelson, and Cortney Williams had just returned from allegedly picking up a new batch of fake pills in Kentucky…
Partnership For Safe Medicines Urges Passage of the STOP Act to Increase Inspections for Dangerous Synthetic Opioids Legislation will increase surveillance of primary smuggling route for fentanyl WASHINGTON (May 24, 2018) – The Partnership for Safe Medicines (PSM) today urged passage of the Synthetics Trafficking and Overdose Prevention Act of 2017 (S.372), also known as…
Three recent stories – from Mississippi, Georgia, and Florida – show the counterfeit pain and anti-anxiety pills are still a major danger to residents along the Gulf Coast…
Three news stories recently out of Arizona show that despite the DEA taking over 120,000 counterfeit fentanyl pills off the streets in 2017, police keep finding more and seizures of a precursor chemical needed to produce fentanyl are up…
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Iowa issued a warning to residents about counterfeit pills made with fentanyl being sold on the streets around the state. Shortly after this announcement, the DOJ announced guilty pleas from two Waverly residents charged with selling counterfeit pills made with carfentanil and cyclopropyl fentanyl that they purchased off the Internet…
By approving the wholesale reimportation of U.S. prescription drugs from Canada, the Vermont Legislature passed an illegal measure that will not lower drug prices. Instead, it will subject Vermonters to public health risks and new taxes to defray an inevitable federal lawsuit.
An additional individual has been charged for his role in the Pharma-Master counterfeit fentanyl pill ring allegedly run by Utah-resident Aaron Shamo. Jonathan Luke Paz received four charges in federal court…
A 2017 legal review conducted by Camille Guerra and Dr. Timothy K. Mackey predates the CanadaDrugs prosecution, however it clearly illustrates the challenges faced by courts in effectively prosecuting illicit online pharmacies
The Center for Safe Internet Pharmacies and Partnership for Drug-Free Kids launched MedicineSafe to educate families about medicine safety.
A Westover, Connecticut man is under arrest, and authorities there have uncovered a counterfeit Percocet factory in a barn that was producing enough carfentanil pills to kill half the population of Stamford
Stories of counterfeit pills made with fentanyl keep coming in from across the country. PSM did a quick recap of three stories – one from Arkansas, one from North Carolina, and one from California – that we want to make sure you know about…
A nonprofit group working to protect the world from cyber threats analyzed 120,000 online pharmacy domains over a ten year period. Their data showed multiple reasons that consumers need to be careful when purchasing prescription medications online…
Drug overdose deaths increased 27.9% since 2015, and the CDC notes, “These increases primarily were driven by deaths involving synthetic opioids, for which the rate doubled from 2015 to 2016.” Synthetic opioids like illicit manufactured fentanyl are poisoning Americans in record numbers.
A federal jury found Dr. Johnny C. Benjamin of Vero Beach guilty on five of the seven charges against him, including manufacturing counterfeit pills with fentanyl that caused the death of a young woman in Wellington, Florida…
After spending years smuggling illegal and counterfeit prescription pills into the U.S. and selling them to people in San Diego County, Alejandro Hernandez was sentenced to 30-months in federal prison for his crime…
The state of Ohio has been hard hit by the opioid epidemic. It is one of 43 states in which PSM has documented finding counterfeit fentanyl pills and is also one of 22 states in which someone had died from taking one of these pills. Now, the executive director of the Ohio Pharmacists Association and the Ohio Attorney General have both spoken out about the dangers these fake pills pose to everyone…