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The FDA has strict oversight and controls on our pharmaceutical industry. From cradle-to-grave, the FDA ensures American consumers receive safe, uncontaminated pharmaceutical medications. These FDA assurances don’t apply to foreign pharmaceutical companies. Pharmaceutical drugs are the most counterfeited item in the world; an estimated $200 billion industry. Based on our counterfeit opioid drug crises, we should think long and hard before considering such proposals.
Read MoreRed Boiling Springs mayor Joel Rae Coe has been arrested on drug trafficking charges after a year-long joint investigation between the Macon County Sheriff’s Department the Red Boiling Springs Police Department, the Lafayette Police Department and the Tennessee Highway Patrol. Authorities found 3 bags of 10 milligram hydrocodone pills, one page of 7.5 milligram hydrocodone pills, two bags of 10 milligram oxycodone pills, 154 morphine pills, 48 unidentifiable white pills, a pharmaceutical pill press and four pounds of a white powder that authorities believe is a fentanyl compound.
Read MoreIn this editorial published in The Hill on May 12, 2019, Brooklyn Roberts, the director of the health and human services task force at the American Legislative Exchange Council, discusses the risks of drug importation:
“The safety of our prescription drugs relies on a closed system where drugs can be traced to manufacturers, distributors, pharmacies and patients. Opening that system to foreign drugs would allow the potential for dangerous and potentially deadly medicines to land in the hands of the American public.”
Read MoreToday at the National Press Club former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb addressed the issue of importation and specifically talked about the irony of Florida attempting to do it. Commissioner Gottlieb reminded us that the reason we have the pedigree system we’re implementing now (Track and Trace) is because criminal wholesalers in Florida in the early 2000’s were guilty of introducing…
Read MoreWashington, D.C. (May 9, 2019) – Shabbir Safdar, Executive Director of the Partnership for Safe Medicines, released the following statement in response to President Trump’s comments on drug importation: “We have worked on this issue for more than 15 years and it is simply not possible to import medicines safely from a foreign country’s drug supply. The existing safety provided…
Read MoreGrand Junction resident Andrea Thomas lost her daughter Ashley to counterfeit oxycodone in June 2018. Now, she is determined to protect others. Her new foundation, Voices for Awareness, promotes awareness about substance abuse and self-harm. On July 27, 2019, the organization will hold its first conference—free to the public—at Costa Mesa University, as well as the “Fight for Awareness,” a professional boxing event in which fighters from all over Colorado will dedicate their match to a loved one lost to substance abuse or suicide.
Read MoreAccording to a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), a trio of Connecticut residents has been indicted on charges they were running an organization that specialized in manufacturing counterfeit pills containing fentanyl and selling them via the Internet to purchasers throughout the United States.
Read MoreIn this editorial published on April 30, 2019, former FBI Director Louis Freeh talks about the safety risks of drug importation: “There are hidden risks and costs associated with the scheme that have not been getting much attention which impact your health and Colorado law enforcement’s ability to keep us safe.”
Read MoreWhat’s happening? The Oregon legislature is working through a number of bills to lower healthcare costs which is important, as healthcare costs are a challenge across Oregon. Of all the proposals being discussed, one of them sacrifices safety to achieve cost savings: foreign drug importation. There are three bills which purport to get medicine from Canada: HB2680, HB2689, and SB…
Read MoreThe New Mexico Pharmacists Association recently sent their own letter to members of Congress expressing their concerns about allowing drug importation. PSM had the chance to speak with their executive director to learn more about the realities and misconceptions that people have about prescription drugs and drug importation…
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