Archive for July 2017
National Sheriffs’ Association Opposes Legislation On Drug Importation
The National Sheriffs’ Association passed a resolution at their conference opposing pending drug importation proposals. The resolution highlighted multiple reasons why drug importation is a bad idea for everyone…
[...]Best Advice from Consumer Reports to Reduce Your Healthcare Expense
The Washington Post recently highlighted some of Consumer Reports’ best strategies to help you lower your healthcare cost. Advice covered a range of topics including getting savvy when it comes to medication, making sure you save at the doctor’s office and hospital, being wise about billing and embracing a healthy lifestyle…
[...]Kansas Woman Convicted of Tax Evasion Also Faces Counterfeit Drug Charges
Example of counterfeit Botox courtesy USFDA. The former owner of a Leawood, Kansas business, Midwest Medical Aesthetics, has been charged with importation of misbranded drugs. Kathleen Stegman has been charged with illegally importing $194,000 worth of non-FDA approved “Botox,” Dysport,” “Restylane,” “Perlane,” and “Sculptra,” according to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Stegman is currently…
[...]Man Pleads Guilty for Role in Conspiracy to Manufacture and Sell Counterfeit Steroids
According to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), a Massachusetts man pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit drugs and to distribute a controlled substance. Robert Medeiros, a 32-years-old from Gardner, was one of six people arrested and charged on April 12, 2017. The group is alleged to…
[...]Former Attorneys General of Georgia and Florida Speak Out Against Drug Importation
The bills before Congress would remove many of the license and oversight requirements on the drugs imported into the United States by lifting those barriers, inviting an influx of bogus pharmaceutical products from the same crime rings that are selling these drugs in other countries around the world that would love better access to the U.S. market.
Law enforcement would inevitably be tasked with policing the problem, at a time when most prosecutors and law enforcement officials have their hands full with the growing opioid crisis. One of the biggest killers is fentanyl, a potent, synthetic opioid pain medication that is being laced into counterfeit pills.
[...]Woman Charged with Smuggling Counterfeit Drug into the U.S.
A 47-year-old Houston woman appeared in federal court in June 2017 to face charges for allegedly smuggling a counterfeit drug into the U.S. and trafficking it through her weight loss and nutrition store located in a west Houston strip mall.
[...]Alliance for Safe Online Pharmacies Poll Finds Many Unaware of Dangers Posed by Fake Online Pharmacies
A new survey conducted by the Alliance for Safe Online Pharmacies (ASOP) has found that a majority of Americans are in the dark when it comes to dangers posed by unlicensed online pharmacies.
[...]Ohio Man to Spend Five Years in Prison for Role in Counterfeit Pill Scheme
Cincinnati resident Shoaib Haroon was recently sentenced to five years in federal prison for his role in a scheme to sell people counterfeit drugs. Mr. Haroon received and filled the orders out of his home. He was observed mailing 80 packages each day out of the same post office. Inside the packages were counterfeit pills in plastic bags.
[...]Counterfeit Prescription Drugs a Problem in Canada & Australia
The National Post reports that since October 2015, Health Canada has stopped almost 10,000 packages containing counterfeit prescription drugs at the Canadian border. New reports from a 2010 incident reveal that counterfeit drugs ended up in 260 pharmacies and four hospitals in Australia. Patients were protected by a thorough hospital pharmacist who noticed “it was grittier than normal.”
[...]Fake Altuzan Still Being Found in Other Countries
Counterfeit Altuzan, known as Avastin in the U.S., resurfaces in Cyprus and India four years after FDA reported U.S. doctors purchasing it.
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