Imported Drugs and Medications  

It appears that there are no limits to what our politicians are willing to allow the big corporations to outsource in the name of bigger quarterly profits.  Many of the medications that we rely upon for our health, and in many instances, our lives, are being made in foreign countries by low-wage foreign workers.

The United Stated is becoming increasingly dependent upon drugs and medications which are manufactured in foreign countries.  The FDA reported that 80 percent of the active ingredients in the medications sold in the US are made in foreign countries.

And many of these foreign manufacturing facilities are rarely, if ever, inspected by the FDA.  In 2011, the FDA reported that “at current rates, it would take an estimated nine years for FDA to inspect every high priority pharmaceutical facility just once.”

And even when the FDA does make an inspection at a foreign manufacturing facility, it is not the same as driving up to the front door, unannounced, as it is in the US.  It would be difficult for US inspectors to get a visa, pass through customs, and arrive at the foreign manufacturing plant without the manufacturer having any advanced notice.

And to further confuse the public about what is happening, drugs are not even required to be labeled showing the country of origin.  It is amazing that we require a box of pasta noodles to have a country of origin label, but not a prescription drug.

And, it is not just the chance that the foreign manufacturer will accidently fail to meet US FDA standards by not using approved methods of operating the manufacturing facility.  There is always the possibility of intentional fraud or adulteration of the medicines by the foreign producer in an effort to save money and increase profits.  Corruption is wide-spread in many third-world countries.

And also, our national security is also at risk, as we become dependent upon foreign countries to produce goods, such as medicines, that are necessary for our well-being.  For example, would we want all our antibiotics to come from China, India, or some other foreign country?  What if they decided to stop selling antibiotics, or some other drug, to us?

In the 1970’s, we had the oil embargo by foreign oil-producing countries, which created a shortage of gasoline available at US gas pumps.  Do we want to take this same chance with our medications and medical devices?