Archive for September 2017
Separating fact from fiction about drug importation at CNN’s recent Healthcare Town Hall
CNN’s September 25, 2017 Healthcare Town Hall was an opportunity for prominent senators to share important ideas about ways to improve Americans’ lives, but it also included some erroneous statements about drug importation. PSM’s Board President, Dr. Marv Shepherd, sent this letter on September 29 to clarify those issues.
[...]FDA-OCI Investigation Leads To Guilty Pleas From Two Men Who Sold Fake Drugs To Americans
The owner and the manager of a company in India ran a scheme cold calling phone numbers in the U.S. and Canada hoping the person who picked up the phone would be interested in purchasing some of their counterfeit medications. Both pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges in federal court…
[...]In Fight Against Counterfeit Pills, Ontario Lawmakers Seek To Restrict Pill Presses
Seeking to prevent any more deaths from fake pills made with fentanyl, the Legislature of Ontario is considering a bill that would make it illegal for anyone except pharmacists to own a pill press, an essential piece of equipment utilized in the manufacturing of counterfeit medicines…
[...]Young Californian Dies After Accidentally Taking Counterfeit Xanax Made with Fentanyl
The evening of October 26, 2015, twenty-nine-year-old Aptos, California resident Tosh Ackerman took a benedryl and part of a Xanax pill to help him sleep. He never woke up, and his girlfriend found him dead the next day. Ackerman died because the Xanax he took was counterfeit. It contained a fatal dose of a powerful synthetic opioid called fentanyl.
[...]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.
[...]FDA Sends Warning Letters To Unlicensed Online Pharmacies Selling Unapproved and Misbranded Medications
The FDA took action against 500 websites operated by affiliate networks, including the notorious GlavMed, associated with the Win32.Kelihos.b trojan, used to distribute spam via infected computers. GlavMed’s found, Igor Gusev, allegedly operated a sister entity which directed traffic to various cities operating under the name Canadian Pharmacy.
[...]Police Arrest Man Selling 3,500 Fake Fentanyl Pills in Arizona
The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office announced the arrest of Jesus Madueno, who was attempting to sell 3,500 counterfeit oxycodone to undercover officers. The pills were made with fentanyl…
[...]NV Sheriffs’ and Chiefs’ Association Tells Sen. Heller They Oppose Allowing Drug Importation
The Nevada Sheriffs’ and Chiefs’ Association sent a letter to Senator Heller explaining their reasons for opposing S. 469, the bill that would allow drug importation…
[...]Texas Policy Analyst Questions Economic Impact and Safety of Drug Importation
Russell Withers, general counsel at the Texas Conservative Coalition Research Institute in Austin, believes that drug importation is “neither affordable nor safe.” In a September 20, 2017 editorial in the Austin-American Statesman , he argues that “it would hurt U.S. and Texas businesses, workers and patients’ and urges Texan congress members to oppose it.
[...]State Attorney General Warns Fake Pills Containing Fentanyl Found in Western NY
State Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman warned citizens in western New York that fake opioid pills made with fentanyl have been discovered for the first time in their part of the state: “These poison pills are the latest troubling development in our state’s opioid crisis.”…
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