[UPDATE: This statement has been updated to include all three pieces of pending legislation in Florida. March 5, 2019] Washington, D.C. (March 5, 2019) – Shabbir Safdar, Executive Director of the Partnership for Safe Medicines, released the following statement today in response to three separate proposals from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and and the state…
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The U.S. Department of Justice announced charges against an Akron, Ohio resident after a search of his home turned up items “consistent with a large-scale pill press operation.” Donyea Nelson received a nine-count indictment in federal court, which included charges for possession of fentanyl, possession of a pill press, and possession of die molds…
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Some politicians have suggested that allowing the importation of prescription drugs from Canada would be a safe and effective way to lower the cost of medications for Americans, but this idea overlooks a very important fact: the Canadian drug supply chain is not built to support Canada’s population and the United States’…
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Federal charges announced against two New Jersey residents for their roles in a conspiracy to market and distribute misbranded and unapproved new drugs. The U.S. Department of Justice filed a charge of conspiring to distribute and cause the receipt and delivery of misbranded new drugs against both Keith Kovaleski of South Amboy and Inew Maltez of Sayreville…
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As of January 2019, counterfeit, fentanyl-laced prescription pills have been reported in 46 states—every state except Delaware, Hawaii, Kansas and Nebraska. The number of states reporting associated deaths has risen 71 percent, from 17 in October 2016 to 29 in December 2018.
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In Capitol Hill briefings sponsored by the Partnership for Safe Medicines (PSM) on January 31, former and current law enforcement leaders sounded a warning over the increased flow of counterfeit drugs and lethal fentanyl into the United States, noting that international drug traffickers and crime syndicates see our nation as a lucrative market.
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The U.S. Department of Justice announced prison sentences for three members of a large-scale counterfeit fentanyl pill manufacturing and distribution ring based in Elmira, New York. The ringleader, Robert Ian Thatcher, received a 23-year prison sentence. Edward Barrett and Dusty Pemberton, both street level dealers, will spend seven and one-half and five and one-half years in prison respectively…
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Two sheriffs in Montana issued public warnings after multiple people died in January because of counterfeit oxycodone pills made with fentanyl. This makes Montana the 30th state in which PSM has documented deaths caused by fake fentanyl pills
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The Shasta County District Attorney’s Office in California filed eight felony counts against a local woman who allegedly lied about being a licensed nurse and injected her unsuspecting clients with liquid silicone and illegally-sourced Botox…
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2019 has already been a busy year for fentanyl cases in Arizona. Thousands of counterfeit fentanyl pills have been seized, a woman selling pills out of a convenience store has been charged, a 15-year-old suffered a non-fatal overdose at school from what is thought to have been a counterfeit pill, and Customs and Border Protection seized 254 founds of fentanyl hidden in a shipment of cucumbers at the port of entry at Nogales…
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