DrugBuyers
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Reged: 11/18/01
Posts: 1297
Loc: DrugBuyers.Com
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http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/WarOnTerrorism/2004/08/11/578240-ap.html
Terrorists might tamper with imported Canadian prescriptions: FDA chief
Quote:
WASHINGTON (AP) - Tampering with prescription drugs imported from Canada could be a way for terrorists to launch an attack on Americans, acting U.S. Food and Drug Administration commissioner Lester Crawford said Wednesday.
Crawford said in an interview possible action by terrorists is the most serious of his concerns about the increasing efforts of states and cities to import drugs from Canada to save money.
Would-be terrorists need only poke around the Internet to learn how Tylenol, then the leading U.S. painkiller, was removed from shelves, filled with cyanide and returned to stores to kill unsuspecting consumers two decades ago.
"I would think that's something they would be looking at," Crawford said of terrorists.
"Nothing like that has happened," he added.
"But it is a source of continuing concern."
A spokesman for U.S. Homeland Security Department said it has received "no specific information" of such a threat.
"We do acknowledge that al-Qaida and other terrorist groups have studied agroterrorism techniques and have probably considered that tactic with regard to destabilizing the United States," said Brian Roehrkasse, spokesman for the Homeland Security Department.
"While we must assume that such a threat exists generally, we have no specific information now about any al-Qaida threats to our food or drug supply."
The FDA is under mounting pressure - and faces a lawsuit filed by the state of Vermont - to soften its stance on Canadian drug imports, seen by some state and city officials as a way to shave thousands to millions from drug bills.
The FDA has held fast, citing concerns about the safety and effectiveness of the illegally imported drugs. So far, however, the agency has done little more than issue warning letters. And Crawford said the agency has not yet decided whether to vigorously defend itself against the Vermont lawsuit.
The agency's concerns about Canadian prescription imports are many. Crawford said some drugs are shipped without proper refrigeration, some have the wrong potency and some are counterfeit, lacking active ingredients.
Crawford's top concern: terrorists could strike at drugs.
He said he was recently briefed about the stream of previously unknown al-Qaida terror threats yielded by recent arrests and raids. Asked whether the briefing covered potential terror strikes involving products the agency regulates - including food and drugs - Crawford declined further comment.
Two recent product-tampering episodes the agency faced this summer ended with no injury or death.
Baby food, which he said was probably singled out for its shock effect, was laced with ground castor beans in Irvine, Calif. The contamination source is unclear; no suspect has yet been arrested. Ricin, a deadly toxin, is made from castor beans.
And a shipment of lemons from Argentina - alleged to be impregnated with an unknown "harmful biological substance" - was barred from entry at the Port of Newark, N.J., on Aug. 6. The U.S. coast guard, Department of Homeland Security and the FDA worked on the investigation, freezing the lemons to preserve the contaminant.
"There was nothing we could find in there," Crawford said.
The agency, however, can't pin its hopes on terrorist missteps, he said.
"The public-health implications of a terrorist attack using anything we regulate would be greater. It would be immediate."
"It would be problematic. I mean, not all terrorist attempts are going to be botched like the (baby food tampering)," he said.
"But I would say terrorism would be at the top of the list. And, I think that's where it ought to be."
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Therion
Enthusiast
Reged: 06/14/04
Posts: 206
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Sounds like we need to expand the War On Drugs to include baby food and lemons!!!
"All right, boy! Put your hands behind your head and STEP AWAY FROM THE LEMON!"
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caramello51
Board Addict
Reged: 09/28/02
Posts: 311
Loc: Alaska
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are crackpots now classified as terrorists? crackpots did the tylenol thing, and guess what? 6 months later the sales of tylenol were up, people remembered the name tylenol, but not why they remembered it. any PR is better than none. castor beans in baby food is classified as a terrorist attack?? the lemons were from an unverified e-mail. the agent shipping the lemons is out $70,000, and suspects the e-mail was from a competitor. i mean, where does terrorism start, and cranks, and competitors are discounted?... what is the definition of a "terrorist" attack??? i'd really like to know. unscrupulous practices have been going on for ever, only now they are all labeled terrorism???
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peteg72
Member
Reged: 05/10/04
Posts: 178
Loc: midwest
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Good point caramello. I think tim mcVeigh was considered a terrorist. Who is a terrorist and who is a crimminal?
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And if the band youre in starts playing different tunes....I'll see you on the dark side of the moon
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Jeremiah
Agape GrandParent
Reged: 07/14/02
Posts: 705
Loc: U.S.A.
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I read a similiar article.Also,an article on the 'vunerable' areas within our borders.
Nothing like the USA giving the terrorists tips,huh?
J.
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I can't see me lovin nobody but you,for all my life
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tone
Veteran
Reged: 06/29/03
Posts: 587
Loc: Chicago
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Utter Propaganda, and if it did happen, it would be a US Government entity behind it, not arab terrorists
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