For decades counterfeit drugs and medicines have been smuggled into the United States, entering through, and around, various ports of entry.  While working on the Southwest border it was not uncommon to encounter large quantities being smuggled in  to the United States for financial gain.  The market was high and the price for counterfeit medicines and drugs was low.  Unfortunately, people don’t understand the harmful ingredients in many of those counterfeit substances.  Some of the medicines contain no active ingredients, while some contain toxic substances.  

The internet offerings of cheaper medicines has also brought about a boom in the sale of counterfeit products.  There are groups that are obtaining counterfeit medicines from overseas and placing them for sale through various websites.   There are also criminal organizations in the United States that have been manufacturing and selling counterfeit medicines.

It isn’t worth risking your health, or that of a loved one, to purchase medicine or drugs from questionable sources.  Buy from reputable licensed pharmacies.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention has posted an article on Counterfeit Drugs and Travel.  To learn more see:

http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/content/counterfeit-drugs.aspx

There are some recent articles on the internet that outline consequences of taking counterfeit medicines:


http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Deadly+imitations:+counterfeit+drugs+are+a+growing+global+enterprise...-a0185654331


Donald A. Bambenek II, Bambenek Investigative Group

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Last week, the FBI issued its preliminary 2009 crime report, showing that the number of murders in the first half of 2009 decreased 10 percent compared to the first half of 2008. If the trend holds for the remainder of 2009, it will be the single greatest one-year decrease in the number of murders since at least 1960, the earliest year for which national data are available through the Bureau of Justice Statistics. Also, the per capita murder rate for 2009 will be 51 percent lower than the all-time high recorded in 1991, and it will be the lowest rate since 1963—a 46-year low. Final figures for 2009 will be released by the FBI next year.

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