New Report Shows Widespread and Deadly Impact of Illegally-Imported Fentanyl

A new report released April 10, 2018 by The Partnership for Safe Medicines (PSM) illustrates the growing deadly toll that illegally-imported fentanyl is having on communities throughout the U.S. PSM’s analysis confirms reports of counterfeit medicines made with fentanyl in 43 states, with fentanyl-related deaths confirmed in 22 states. The updated findings follow a report released by PSM last September that found a presence of counterfeit fentanyl in 40 states and related deaths in 16 states.

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New Report Shows Widespread and Deadly Impact of Illegally-Imported Fentanyl (April 2018 Update)

A new report released April 10, 2018 by The Partnership for Safe Medicines (PSM) illustrates the growing deadly toll that illegally-imported fentanyl is having on communities throughout the U.S. PSM’s analysis confirms reports of counterfeit medicines made with fentanyl in 43 states, with fentanyl-related deaths confirmed in 22 states. The updated findings follow a report released by PSM last September that found a presence of counterfeit fentanyl in 40 states and related deaths in 16 states.

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PSM Board President Dr. Marv Shepherd Explains the Dangers of Drug Importation

Dr. Shepherd was interviewed on a local Austin radio station and described for listeners the realities of the counterfeit medication economy, and the dangers U.S. citizens face from imported medication. After William Scully, owner of the unlicensed pharmaceutical importer Medical Device King/Pharmalogical, was convicted on charges relating to his drug importation business, Bill Swail, host…

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“Safe” Country Focus: United Kingdom

As my colleague Thomas Kubic recently noted, most supporters of drug importation have a faulty assumption that developed countries like Canada, Australia, Japan and the 27 members of the European Union (E.U.) are insulated from the global threat of counterfeit drugs. In the coming weeks, we will take a closer look at some of these so-called “safe” countries and illustrate why there is no such thing as a “safe” country when it comes to drug importation.

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West African Countries Inundated with Counterfeit Drugs

On July 15, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) released a report detailing how West Africa has become an increasing target for counterfeit drugs. According to the report, as much as 50 to 60 percent of the medicines in this region of the world were found to contain “little or no active ingredients.” The report goes on to explain why these counterfeit drugs are a major public health threat in Africa.

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Microsoft’s Bing.com Sponsors Illegal Online Pharmacies

The Partnership for Safe Medicines (PSM) strongly believes that that no one should be able to purchase prescription drugs, including controlled substances, over the Internet without a valid prescription and physician oversight. Last year we sent every member of Congress a postcard that illustrated this face and earlier this year, my colleague Dr. Bryan Liang published a paper in the American Journal of Law & Medicine that highlights how Internet search engines support illegal online drug sales and identified three key ways we can stop “online pharmacies” from peddling their dangerous wares in cyberspace.

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Counterfeit Drug Sentencing Less Than Adequate

After nearly two years under investigation, the final sentence for running an international multi-million pound counterfeit drug operation was issued in the United Kingdom. The first four convictions were made in September 2007 and on July 6, the final member of the operation received a 12 month sentence, suspended for two years, for masterminding an industrial scale conspiracy of supplying counterfeit drugs between 2002 and 2005. In total, the seven convicted members of this international counterfeit drug ring received a combined 17.5 years imprisonment—an average of 2.5 years for each participant—for their part in the U.K. distribution arm of a global ring operating from China, India and Pakistan, extending to the Caribbean and the United States.

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Pharmacists Fight Against Counterfeit Drugs

Earlier this month, the Partnership for Safe Medicines (PSM) released the L.E.A.D.E.R.’s Guide for Pharmacists to encourage pharmacists to take an active role in protecting the supply chain from counterfeit drugs. This effort is one of many to help curb the distribution of harmful and potentially deadly counterfeit drugs. Similarly, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (RPSGB), Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and the Dispensing Doctor’s Association (DDA) issued Counterfeit medicines: Guidance for pharmacists, explaining the background of counterfeit drugs, their production and distribution to pharmacists.

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