News
“Canada cannot act as a drugstore for the United States,” says academic
In this editorial, which was published by the Fraser Institute on June 13, 2019, economist Dr. Kristina Acri argues against importation, concluding: “Diverting drugs meant for Canadian patients to the U.S. through state importation schemes will create shortages for Canadian patients and increase pressure on potentially unscrupulous suppliers to source drugs from wherever they can, opening the door to counterfeiters.”
[...]2 Million Counterfeit Pills Found at Organization Sending Packages to US, Europe and Australia
On June 4, 2019, Laval police conducted a series of raids to bring down the ring that was making the counterfeit pills. 235 police officers searched 13 locations in Laval, Montreal and the communities that ring the north shore of Laval and Montreal islands. The raids have resulted in the arrest of eleven people.
[...]Florida man Convicted for Manufacturing and Selling Hundreds of Thousands of Counterfeit Oxycodone
On June 7, 2019, a federal jury found Dion Gregory Fisher, 33, of Seminole, FL, guilty of conspiring to manufacture and distribute fentanyl and fentanyl analogue, guilty of five counts of fentanyl distribution and manufacturing and eight counts of committing money laundering transactions involving more than $10,000 of narcotics proceeds.
[...]Peer-reviewed journal article estimates 300,000 child fatalities annually due to counterfeit medication
The Partnership for Safe Medicines and the Alliance for Safe Online Pharmacies (ASOP Global), two public health advocacy groups focused on patient safety and the secure pharmaceutical supply chain, released an infographic today to call attention to the human toll that counterfeit medicines take on children in low and middle income countries.
[...]Federal Agents Break Up Large Counterfeit Pill Rings in Stockton and Newport Beach, California
Eight people in Stockton have been indicted after an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) of over 50 overdoses in the Sacramento area in 2016 that included 12 deaths. The Sacramento Bee reports that the large-scale counterfeit pill making operation in Stockton was turning out thousands of counterfeit prescription pills made with fentanyl, methamphetamine,…
[...]KANSAS: Pills Seized in October 2018 Were Counterfeits Testing Shows
Thirty-one light blue pills seized in a drug investigation were identified by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation as counterfeits made with fentanyl in the first week of June, 2019. The pills were marked with the markings of legitimate oxycodone. The Parson Sun reports that the pills were discovered in a Parsons, KS, motel room on…
[...]Boyfriend Who Gave His Girlfriend The Counterfeit Pill That Killed Her Sentenced to Four Years in Prison
Read our 2018 information sheet about counterfeit drugs in Illinois. On March 21, 2019, 22-year-old Jacob Reis of Cary, Illinois pleaded guilty to charges he gave his 19-year-old girlfriend, Rachel Ramirez, a deadly fentanyl-laced counterfeit pill that killed her, the Northwest Herald reports. According to a 2018 article in the Northwest Herald, Reis and another…
[...]Drug Importation threatens people with chronic illnesses, says advocate.
This editorial by Guy Anthony was published in the Orlando Sentinel on June 12, 2019. Anthony, President and CEO of Black, Gifted & Whole, a nonprofit focused on issues surrounding black, queer men, warns that drug importation will open up “a market for dangerous, counterfeit drugs” that will make it harder for people to live with HIV and other complex illnesses.
[...]New PSM ad reminds us that politics should never take precedence over safety when it comes to medicine.
We’ve all heard politicians promise cheaper drugs imported from other countries, but are they just saying that because we want to hear it? Do they have any expertise that suggests they know how to make such a system safe?
[...]Canadian Policy Researcher Warns That Importation Plans By U.S. States Would Leave Canada Without Crucial Medicines
This editorial by Nigel Rawson was published in The Hills Times on June 9, 2019. Dr. Rawson, president of Eastlake Research Group, a senior fellow at the Fraser Institute, and an affiliated scholar with the Canadian Health Policy Institute, warns that Canada would run out of necessary medicine if U.S. states begin drug importation programs…
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