by Gabriel Levitt, President, PharmacyChecker.com and Prescription Justice | Nov 23, 2011 | Counterfeit Drugs, Online Pharmacies
A bill was introduced in the House of Representatives last week that would make repeat counterfeit drug offenders subject to 20-year maximum jail-terms with $4 million fines for individuals and $10 million if the defendant is an entity. PharmacyChecker.com applauds the introduction of H.R.3468, Counterfeit Drug Penalty Act of 2011, as we believe, if passed, it will act as a deterrent against individuals and businesses who endanger the public health by manufacturing and selling medication that is not subject to government regulations and oversight at best, and deadly at worst.
We also recognize that the bill’s language is clear not to blur the distinction between counterfeit and safe imported medication. The bill states:
Nothing in this Act, or the amendments made by this Act, shall be construed to apply to a drug (as defined in section 201 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 321)) solely because the drug is manufactured in or imported from a foreign country.
In contrast, the proposed Stop Online Piracy Act and Protect IP Act, now before Congress, defines all personally imported medicine, including genuine medication as a threat to the “public health.” This should be opposed. This language appears based on the lobbying rhetoric of the pharmaceutical industry to confuse lawmakers and consumers into believing the false proposition that all personally imported medicine purchased through online pharmacies is counterfeit. Thus, it’s a positive development that H.R. 3468 is crystal clear about the difference between counterfeit and imported drugs.
Stopping drug counterfeiters, whether they infiltrate the domestic supply chain by selling products to U.S. pharmacies or export dangerous drugs ordered online directly to Americans, protects the public health. The Counterfeit Drug Penalty Act seems to go after the real bad guys while not interfering with access to safe and affordable imported medicine and we hope it passes soon.
Tagged with: 21 U.S.C. 321, amendment, and Cosmetic Act, Congress, Counterfeit Drug Penalty Act of 2011, Counterfeit Drugs, counterfeiters, Drug, Federal Food, foreign, H.R. 3468, House of Representatives, importation, pharmacychecker.com, public health, Stop Online Piracy Act and Protect IP Act, supply chain
by Gabriel Levitt, President, PharmacyChecker.com and Prescription Justice | Nov 16, 2011 | Advocacy, Online Pharmacies
The “Stop Online Piracy Act” (SOPA), currently before Congress, threatens online access to safe and affordable medication through reputable international online pharmacies. A CBS-Fort Myers report gives a human face to this issue by highlighting a Floridian senior, Mary Miller, who is able to afford her medication only because of a Canadian online pharmacy. If SOPA passes, Ms. Miller may lose access to that Canadian online pharmacy. The CBS report features RxRights.org as the lead organization helping Americans rally to contact their elected officials to oppose SOPA.
Stopping rogue sites in many areas, such as those sites that steal and re-sell copyrighted movies and music, sell knockoffs of designer handbags and clothes, and especially those that sell dangerous or fake medication is the right idea. But a bill that could takedown many websites that are exercising the rights of free speech, publishing music and movies legally, and especially websites selling safe and affordable medication, is a bill that should be abandoned post-haste.
RxRights.org should be loudly applauded for its work on behalf of Americans who are struggling to afford medication by educating Americans about SOPA and how it could block access to affordable prescription medication.
Tagged with: affordability, Canada, Canadian pharmacies, CBS, Congress, copyright, Florida, Online Pharmacies, rogue sites, RxRights.org, safety, SOPA, Stop Online Piracy Act
by Gabriel Levitt, President, PharmacyChecker.com and Prescription Justice | Apr 5, 2011 | Advocacy, Online Pharmacies, Personal Drug Importation
For the past decade, millions of Americans have safely purchased low-priced medications from Canadian and other non-U.S. online pharmacies. Now it appears that the White House Office of the Intellectual Property Rights seeks to shutdown such online pharmacies because they are not on a “White List” being created by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP), an organization that misleadingly categorizes all non-U.S. online pharmacies that sell to Americans as “rogue.” Already, 25 million Americans do not take their medication due to cost. With less access to affordable medication, fewer Americans will take the medications they need.
We urge you to write to President Obama and your congressional representatives, and demand that actions are not taken against online pharmacies that safely provide affordable medication.
For more news on this advocacy initiative, click here.
Tagged with: Advocacy, Americans, Canada, Congress, drugs from canada, intellectual property rights, international pharmacies, NABP, pharmacies, President Ob, rogue, safe medicine, skip medication, United States, White House
