News
Canada Drugs Indictment: Six Canadians Arrested & Facing Extradition
Almost three years after the original grand jury indictment in November 2014, the owner of Canada Drugs and five of his co-conspirators were arrested on June 14 and 15 in Canada under the Extradition Act, reports CBC News. Kristjan Thorkelson, Thomas Haughton, Ronald Sigurdson, Darren Chalus, Troy Nakamura, and James Trueman have been arrested in…
[...]The Drug Counterfeiters Next Door: Fentanyl-laced Oxycodone Pills Distributed from Utah Suburb
A Utah man and five friends are facing federal drug trafficking, drug counterfeiting, mail and wire-fraud charges for allegedly distributing hundreds of thousands of counterfeit prescription medications laced with fentanyl, a Department of Justice (DOJ) press release reports. The DOJ alleges that Aaron Michael Shamo and his co-conspirators turned his suburban Cottonwood Heights home into…
[...]Kevin St. James Worries That Drug Importation Will Make the Opioid Crisis Worse
Kevin St. James, Commissioner of Rockingham County in New Hampshire is very concerned that Congressional representatives will pass drug importation legislation without giving any thought to the explosive impact that opening our borders to drug shipments will have on America’s deadly opioid/fentanyl crisis.
[...]STAT black market importation policy recommendation based in rhetoric, not facts
The most recent editorial in Stat advocating black market drug importation under the guise of “ordering prescription drugs abroad” overlooks many safety dangers. The most important oversight is in the characterization of the cost of medications. Over 80% of all medications dispensed in the U.S. are dispensed as generic, and generics as a whole are…
[...]North Carolina Secretary of State Wants You to Know about the Dangers Posed by Fake Online Pharmacies
In a new program for North Carolina, Secretary of State Elaine Marshall has set up a public awareness campaign for her state that allows North Carolinians to check whether the online pharmacy they want to purchase from is genuine, the News & Observer reports. Dubbed “Verify Before you Buy,” the new program aims to protect…
[...]American Pharmacists Association, National Association of Chain Drug Stores urge Trump to reject drug importation proposals
On June 1, 2017, the American Pharmacists Association (APhA), which represents 64,000 pharmacy professionals, and the National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS), which represents more than 100 national and regional pharmacy chains, sent a letter to President Donald Trump urging him not to support legislation that would allow broad personal and commercial importation of non-FDA approved prescription drugs.
[...]Save Savings Tip: Generic Prinivil and Generic Discount Drug Programs
According to the Centers for Disease Control, about 75 million people, 1 of 3 U.S. adults, have high blood pressure and only 54% of these people have their high blood pressure under control. It is not surprising that lisinopril, the generic version of Prinivil that treats high blood pressure and heart failure, was the third…
[...]Counterfeit Pills Containing Fentanyl Contribute to 130 Deaths in Bay Area Since 2015
A San Francisco area news station, NBC Bay Area conducted a survey of Bay Area counties and found at least 130 fentanyl-related deaths since 2015. NBC Bay Area spoke to John Martin, special agent in charge for the drug agency’s San Francisco division. Special Agent Martin told them “What we’ve seen here in Northern California…
[...]Online Pharmacies Actually Fronts for Illegal Call Center in India Busted Selling Counterfeit Medicines into US
A review of the client database recovered during a recent raid at a call center in Bengaluru, India has shown that the U.S. is a major market for illegal online prescription drug sales. According to the Times of India, the April 19, 2017 bust produced evidence of the call center selling drugs and prescription pharmaceuticals…
[...]Comment: Importing Canadian drugs could harm HIV patients
This editorial by Scott Bertani was published in the Washington Herald on May 7, 2017. Mr. Bertani is the Director of Policy and Community Relations for Lifelong AIDS Alliance, a nonprofit health advocacy group based in Western Washington.
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