Corey Booker's statement about his vote on reimportation.

[pnwmom]

It doesn't seem to be a coincidence that of 13 Senators who voted against the sloppily written reimportation amendment, Corey Booker has faced the lion's share of criticism. Beware of Rethugs who already recognize him as a strong candidate for 2020 and want to discredit him among Democrats.

http://theslot.jezebel.com/for-some-reason-cory-booker-and-12-other-dems-killed-a-1791116094

I support the importation of prescription drugs as a key part of a strategy to help control the skyrocketing cost of medications. Any plan to allow the importation of prescription medications should also include consumer protections that ensure foreign drugs meet American safety standards. I opposed an amendment put forward last night that didn’t meet this test. The rising cost of medications is a life-and-death issue for millions of Americans, which is why I also voted for amendments last night that bring drug prices down and protect Medicare’s prescription drug benefit. I?’m committed to finding solutions that allow for prescription drug importation with adequate safety standards.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/31/health/counterfeit-medications/

The World Health Organization estimates as many as 50% of illicit online pharmacies are selling counterfeit medications.

And in a 2014 annual report, the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy in the United States concluded after sampling more than 11,000 Internet pharmacies that a staggering 96% of those pharmacies did not comply with NABP patient safety and pharmacy practice standards, or state and federal laws, and were deemed by the NABP as "not recommended."

SNIP

That heart medication being advertised at a fraction of the price might contain rat poison. The cholesterol lowering drug you are taking could be filled with brick dust. And the antibiotic may be filled with other toxic chemicals such as paint or inkjet material.

SNIP

The online sellers are clever, often advertising themselves as Canadian to ease the consumer's mind about the source of the drugs. But many of those websites are phony, and the drugs are coming from counterfeiters all over the world. The countries topping the counterfeit drug manufacturing list are India and China.


http://abcnews.go.com/Health/abc-news-investigation-counterfeit-prescription-drug-operations-us/story?id=31077758

A popular way many customers get cheaper prescription drugs is to try to order them online from Canada. There are numerous small storefronts across the country with names like Canada Drugs or Canada Direct, advertising inexpensive drugs, but there are questions over whether the medicines being sold are pure, or even from Canada.

I was one of several ABC News producers to investigate these stores, using real prescriptions from our doctors for four different drugs -- Viagra, Zocor heart medication, generic Cialis and generic Propecia for hair loss -- to see if what we received from these stores was authentic.

SNIP

But while all of these stores advertised a Canada connection, Howard Sklamberg with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Global Regulatory Operations, who is also a former prosecutor, said in reality only a “small percentage” of drugs coming through these storefronts are actually from Canada. He said most of the medicine ordered from these storefronts do not meet FDA standards.

“They could have dangerous contaminants,” he said. “And that's just a really, really, really big risk to take with your health.” Federal authorities point multiple examples of where these counterfeit drugs actually come from – Columbia, Peru, even China. ABC News had all four drugs – the Viagra, Zocor, generic Cialis and generic Propecia – tested at a variety of labs, from the Custom and Border Protection Lab in Newark, New Jersey, Eli Lilly’s Lab in Indianapolis, Indiana and the University of Montreal’s Department of Chemistry.

The generic Cialis and generic Propecia both arrived in packages from India and both came back containing impurities. In fact, a chemical test on the generic Propecia tablet revealed an unknown ingredient and unknown properties mixed in with the active ones.

SNIP



http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2015/08/11/Canadian-pharmacy-accused-of-selling-fake-cancer-drugs-to-US-doctors/3611439325784/

HELENA, Mont., Aug. 11 (UPI) -- U.S. prosecutors have accused a Canadian pharmacy of selling some $78 million in counterfeit, misbranded and unapproved drugs -- including those that treat cancer -- to U.S. doctors.

In an indictment filed in U.S. District Court in Montana, the company and its affiliates have been charged with smuggling, money laundering and conspiracy. The indictment was returned by a grand jury in November 2014, but a redacted document wasn't unsealed until July.

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2011/10/save-money-by-ordering-drugs-from-canada-not-so-fast/index.htm

Consumer Reports:

The most prevalent financial problem Americans face month in month out is the inability to afford their medicines. That’s according to a monthly national poll by Consumer Reports National Research Center. Indeed, medication in the U.S. can cost up to twice as much as it does in other parts of the world, so many bargain hunters turn to the Web seeking discounted, name-brand prescription drugs from Canada or other countries. But recent analysis has found that buyers should beware: Only a fraction of online pharmacies are legitimate. Our medical consultants say that given such risks, ordering from foreign websites should be avoided altogether.

Of the more than 8,300 online pharmacies reviewed in July 2011 by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP), which accredits online drugstores in addition to representing state pharmacy boards across the U.S., just over 3 percent appear to be sound. It considers the rest to be “rogue” operations.

SNIP


And for those seeking safety by ordering specifically from Canadian websites, there’s something else to consider. “Many of the Canadian sites aren’t Canadian at all,” says Carmen Catizone, NABP’s executive director.

While there are legitimate online Canadian pharmacies regulated by Health Canada, a government agency similar to the FDA, Canadian pharmacies that ship prescription medication to the U.S. aren’t subject to Canadian regulatory authority, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

A spokesperson for Health Canada declined to assess the specific risks posed by these websites to Americans but did point out the Canadian government’s own warnings to its citizens about the risk of purchasing drugs on the Internet.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4105729/

Discussion

The issue of counterfeit drugs has been growing in importance in the United States, with the supply of these counterfeit drugs coming from all over the world. Innovation is important to economic growth and US competitiveness in the global marketplace, and intellectual property protections provide the ability for society to prosper from innovation. Especially important in terms of innovation in healthcare are the pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical industries. In addition to taking income from consumers and drug companies, counterfeit drugs also pose health hazards to patients, including death. The case of bevacizumab (Avastin) is presented as one recent example. Internet pharmacies, which are often the source of counterfeit drugs, often falsely portray themselves as Canadian, to enhance their consumer acceptance. Adding to the problems are drug shortages, which facilitate access for counterfeits. A long and convoluted supply chain also facilitates counterfeits. In addition, the wholesale market involving numerous firms is a convenient target for counterfeit drugs. Trafficking in counterfeits can be extremely profitable; detection of counterfeits is difficult, and the penalties are modest.

[DonCoquixote]

1. Corey, if you are talking about India or China

I could perhaps find this a bit easier to swallow. But do consider you are talking about Canada, a country whose rate of health and quality of medical care consistently beats ours by a country mile. Go ahead and call that legislation sloppy if you want, but if you really want us to believe that you really have no problem with the importation of drugs, you should have said this statement barely an hour after your vote, because now it looks like you are trying to cover your behind.

[pnwmom]

2. You don't understand. The safety issue isn't related to drugs produced in Canada.

It's about fake drugs produced elsewhere that travel through Canada on the way to the US., or that are sold in online storefronts falsely purporting to be connected with real Canadian pharmacies. Canada does NOT regulate or set standards for drugs that are sent to the US -- only for those sold to Canadian consumers.

Please read some of the articles I've linked to now in the OP -- from CNN, the NIH, Consumer Reports, and others.

ON EDIT:

Here's the one from Consumer Reports:

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2011/10/save-money-by-ordering-drugs-from-canada-not-so-fast/index.htm

Consumer Reports:


And for those seeking safety by ordering specifically from Canadian websites, there’s something else to consider. “Many of the Canadian sites aren’t Canadian at all,” says Carmen Catizone, NABP’s executive director.

While there are legitimate online Canadian pharmacies regulated by Health Canada, a government agency similar to the FDA, Canadian pharmacies that ship prescription medication to the U.S. aren’t subject to Canadian regulatory authority, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

A spokesperson for Health Canada declined to assess the specific risks posed by these websites to Americans but did point out the Canadian government’s own warnings to its citizens about the risk of purchasing drugs on the Internet.

[Chimichurri]

3. Yup

[FreakinDJ]

7. Well said Thank you

[Thinkingabout]

4. I am not against getting the prices down in the US, why are

We paying much more in the US than other countries are paying for the same drug? We know why this is happening, fix the cost here.

BTW, agree, too much on the attack of Corey, the early propaganda machine is attacking Democrats, we now have Trump as a result.

[pnwmom]

5. Yes, we are the only western country that doesn't negotiate drug prices

with our manufacturers. It's ridiculous that Canadians can purchase US produced medication for less than we can.

[Thinkingabout]

8. The cheaper prices is world wide, but the US pays more, this was one of

HRC's issues, it would go a long way to reducing the cost of our healthcare.

[Eliot Rosewater]

11. Dont know about you, but I would rather pay much more for RX than have a woman who once

owned a private server like her predecessors did where no harm was ever done but just having that server is too much for me, I prefer the situation we now have where the entire human race may end.

I mean we really dodged a bullet there.

Some of my progressive friends are still saying that Hillary would not be preferable to Trump, so you know. I guess they are right.

Or, wait...what planet am I on again?

[Thinkingabout]

12. And bashing a democrat is okay with you, not to me and it is not needed on a Democratic site.

Bash Trump for sexually assaulting women.

[Eliot Rosewater]

15. sarcasm

[LeftInTX]

13. This is sarcasm??? Right??

[Eliot Rosewater]

16. of course

[Cha]

6. Russia bad mouthing him too

[Thinkingabout]

9. propaganda worked well in 2016 elections, they are not stopping, they

Bashed HRC throughout the primaries.

[treestar]

10. I'm tired of the knee jerking on things like this

people don't look into anything before they judge. If it sounds good on the surface they are all for it. And they assume the worst of the congressperson's reasoning.

[mcar]

14. Not only Republicans, unfortunately