RetireSafe urges vote against Senator Dorgan's drug importation amendment

Dec 11 2009

Today, the senior advocacy group RetireSafe notified the Senate in letter that they will key vote Senator Dorgan's Importation Amendment SA 2793.

RetireSafe President Thair Phillips said, "Senator Dorgan's importation amendment is poised to open our borders, allowing our safe, closed drug system to be breached, and our health to be endangered. RetireSafe and their more than 400,000 supporters will be watching closely the vote on this amendment to identify those who are willing to put seniors' health at risk," he declared.

Phillips went on, "It may be popular to import huge amounts of price-controlled foreign medications into the United States. But," he asked, "what about the growing epidemic of counterfeit medications plaguing the rest of the world?" Phillips continued, "What about the drug safety we expect and depend on? That will die the minute the Dorgan amendment becomes law," he stressed.

"The FDA, this week, again warned the Senate about the safety implications of allowing large quantities of unsafe prescription drugs across our borders, and this warning came despite the attempts in the bill to legislate safety," Phillips stated.

He noted, "The World Health Organization estimates that 10% of the drugs on the global market are counterfeit, while 25% to 50% of medicines consumed in developing countries are counterfeit. A United Nations body recently announced that the trafficking of prescription drugs is set to exceed illicit drug abuse, and warned of a 'potential flood of counterfeit medicines' on the global market," he added. "For the Senate to ignore this and pass the risky Dorgan importation scheme would be totally irresponsible," Phillips said.

He noted, "The elderly consumers we represent will be the most vulnerable to these insidious threats, and when they become ill or die as a result of fake medication, it will simply be written off as from 'natural causes.' And it's not just the fakes that concern us, it's also the medicine that has been poorly packaged, transported, or stored," he continued. "Perhaps it is pills that are past the date for safe use, or mishandled medicine that arrives diluted, or adulterated," said Phillips. "For our seniors, there will be no way to know the perils they face with imported pills," he added.

"RetireSafe urges the Senate to vote 'NO' on the dangerous Dorgan drug importation amendment," Phillips concluded. www.retiresafe.org.