Every announcement that comes from this government should be treated with great skepticism. They shamelessly lie to us.
Proclamations which involve protecting and enabling the flow of money into the already overflowing coffers of its corporate benefactors like the pharmaceutical industry, are in my opinion, especially suspect.
So the fear-inducing warning yesterday from the totally citizen-unfriendly, totally politicized FDA, that some drugs from Canada appear to be counterfeit was heralded as proof that all drugs coming from Canada are dangerous.
Americans shouldn't buy prescription drugs from Web sites linked to Canada's biggest mail-order pharmacies because the medicines may be contaminated or ineffective, U.S. regulators said.
I am stating clearly for the record, counterfeit drugs are dangerous. If you or someone you know is getting medication from Canada, do some research before you draw any conclusions whether or not the drugs are tainted.
Unfortunately, until we have a government we can trust, we must take personal responsibility when we receive news like this.
Does everyone know that U.S. border enforcement is confiscating drugs from Canada? Does everyone know that Mr. Bush made it illegal to import lifesaving medication from Canada where prices are a fraction of what they are here?
The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the Act) prohibits persons from importing into the United States any prescription drug that has not been approved for sale by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), or which is adulterated or misbranded within the meaning of the Act. Moreover, in those instances where a United States manufacturer makes an FDA-approved prescription drug and sends it abroad, the Act also prohibits any person other than the original manufacturer from importing the drug back into the United States. Thus, in virtually all instances, individual citizens are prohibited from importing prescription drugs into the United States.
http://www.cbp.gov/...
U.S. Customs confiscates drugs to protect the U.S. pharmaceutical industry from lower cost imports.
Does everyone know that the skyrocketing costs of prescription medication and the myriad obscene failures of Medicare D, has resulted in scores of seniors and others getting their medications from on-line pharmacies in Canada?
Of course, everyone knows that in Canada medication is a fraction of the cost of the gouging we accept in the United States. And this is why the Bush government now wants to spread fear about Canadian drugs.
Since Nov. 17, U.S. Customs and Border Protection has been quietly seizing drugs mailed from Canadian pharmacies to people in this country. It's keeping these confiscations -- about 40,000 packages so far -- hush-hush because, as the administration knows full well, they are outrageous. The government doesn't notify the addressees that it has grabbed their blood-pressure medicine, so the customers become aware of the interception only when their drugs don't arrive. No doubt some people's health has suffered, as the drugs they need and think they've ordered do not materialize.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/...
Yesterday, the stakes got much higher. The FDA kicked the fear campaign into high gear.
Americans shouldn't buy prescription drugs from Web sites linked to Canada's biggest mail-order pharmacies because the medicines may be contaminated or ineffective, U.S. regulators said.
Laboratory tests of intercepted drug shipments found counterfeits of some of the top-selling treatments for cholesterol, blood pressure, heartburn and pain, the Food and Drug Administration said today. An international probe involves Mediplan Global Health and Mediplan Prescription Plus Pharmacy in Manitoba and Web sites including Canadiandrugstore.com, Canada- pharmacy.com and RxNorth.com, the agency said.
http://www.bloomberg.com/...
But the Canadian press and the president of the Canadian International Pharmacy Association had a different view of the true motives of the corrupt FDA.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration blindsided Canada's online pharmacists Wednesday with a report that found fake versions of Lipitor and other widely used prescription drugs were sold by websites linked to a co-founder of the industry.
But the past president of Canada's largest industry lobby group is urging people not to jump to conclusions until key questions are answered about the drugs and whether they truly are counterfeit.
"The first reaction has to be one of caution when you look at the empty statements (by the FDA) - they have no evidence," said Andy Troszok, an online pharmacist and past president of the Canadian International Pharmacy Association.
http://www.canada.com/...
Whenever I read stories like this, I follow the money. With Mr. Bush running things, there's always a money trail, and if you follow it, sooner or later you'll find the pot of gold.
The FDA said consumers who bought drugs through 10 websites, including rxnorth.com, Canadiandrugstore.com and rxbyfax.com, should not use the medications because they may not be safe.
. . .Andrew Strempler is known to own, or have a stake, in all of the companies, operated in Minnedosa, Man.
Strempler, his university pharmacy pal Mark Rzepka, and their wives were among the early entrepreneurs in 2001 to create a cross-border prescription drug trade - selling cheaper brand-name drugs to uninsured and underinsured Americans - once estimated to be worth about $1 billion.
"U.S. drug companies, along with the FDA, are really starting to target companies like ours," said Strempler. "These allegations are completely false."
Now, I have no idea whether the FDA has really found some counterfeit drugs. What I do know is that we have been lied to for so long about so much that I am at a point where I can no longer trust anything that comes from our government. The government has no credibility, long ago it ceded the moral high ground. You may feel differently, but this is how I see things.
Andy Troszok, an online pharmacist and past president of the Canadian International Pharmacy Association is very skeptical and so am I.
Health Canada spokesman Paul Duchesne said the department is investigating.
"If there are any safety concerns we will be sure to alert the public," said Duchesne.
Staff Sgt. Steve Saunders said the RCMP was aware of the FDA release but could not comment, citing privacy laws and agency policy.
Troszok questioned how FDA defined "counterfeit," saying there are allowable variances in active ingredients from batch to batch from brand-name manufacturers, and also when comparing generics and brand names.
"They have not shown any evidence in that report that the accusations have validity," said Troszok.
"Our organization is asking for clarification on this issue before we make any generalized statements."
David MacKay, a consultant for more than a dozen Canadian online pharmacists, shared Troszok's skepticism.
He pointed to the FDA's longstanding opposition to the trade and says it has a pattern of trying to instill fear in the U.S. public about legitimate Canadian drugs.
"We have absolutely no indication of the methodology of their testing, or the country of origin," said MacKay. "There is a potential this may not be on the up and up."
MacKay said in recent weeks there been increased buzz among U.S. opponents of the industry about the threat of counterfeit.
The Canadian industry has lost much of its steam in the last 18 months due in large part to the strong Canadian dollar and blacklists by brand-name drug manufacturers that have driven many Internet pharmacists to get their drugs from overseas suppliers.
This is what the FDA official had to say. If this isn't spreading fear, then what is?
``Unsuspecting Americans are being taken advantage of by clever criminals willing to sell them pills in a bottle,'' said Randall Lutter, co-chairman of the FDA's counterfeit drug taskforce, in a phone interview. Buying drugs over the internet is ``essentially an unregulated, Wild West free market.''
http://www.bloomberg.com/...
More deceit and bullshit from an increasingly shrill and desperate Bushco?
Stay tuned.