Panel 2: Maryland Attorney General, Douglas F. Gansler

Maryland Attorney General, Douglas F. Gansler, spoke on Panel 2.  

Said Gansler, "We all have a blind trust in the drugs we take, the doctor says we'll get better when we take it, and we trust that medication is what it purports to be.

"But counterfeit drugs make it not the case. "

Said Gansler, with counterfeit drugs being sold at counterfeit online pharmacies, the medication looks legitimate.  The Attorney Generals of the US states have become the internet police: we rely on legitimate companies to police themselves, but the Attorney Generals police illegal online pharmacies and provide consumer protection including illegitmate transactions onlines with legitimate companies.

For example, said Gansler, Google Adwords allowed consumers to find online drug sellers that could defraud consumers, and working with Google, shut down the fake pharmacies' access to Adwords.

He promoted the Maryland Drug Takeback Program, reminding us that people may take old medications in what are called "Skittle parties" and that to address, pharmacists in Maryland are going to start taking back old medication rather than asking people to dispose of them themselves.  He reminded us that it is not safe to keep old medications around the house, nor is it safe to flush them down the toilet because they pollute the water.