When Good Drugs Go Gray; Booming Underground Market Raises Safety Concerns The article entitled above by Melody Peterson published on December 14, 2000 in The New York Times talk about the gray market pharmacies. These pharmacies sell drugs to people illegally. They have been making money because they buy for cheap and sell for high. Even the shipping and packaging for such drugs are not proved to be in the right way. Drugs such as vaccines are advised to be shipped in ice boxes to ensure that they can stand weather conditions and change. Government has tried to promulgate laws against any illegal activity, however this issue is still prevalent because some wholesalers change their name or location. Such an issue may have negative consequences …show more content…
It also recommended that hospitals “don't buy products from gray market vendors, who often flood pharmacists with emails and faxes and, as Alkire put it, "hide in the shadows." (Weinstock, 2011). It is also advised that hospitals “notify state authorities if they are approached by suspect suppliers” (Weinstock, 2011). In addition, the government should watch all the work of hospitals and pharmacies through delegating an independent agency that track and supervise their work. Licensing to pharmacies should be given after a careful review of all the necessary information and making sure that any agency or hospital working in this field is transparent and honest. Illegal drugs can pose a real threat to the lives of people. Moreover, government is responsible for making awareness campaigns via social and multi-media about the risks of trading in illegal drugs. Citizens should be aware of using drugs in a proper way. Sometimes citizens do not know if the drugs are legally or illegally traded, so the government should make this clear to citizens and let the m know how to distinguish between such things. Human lives matter to the government. The government should also make sure of the revenues that hospitals and pharmacies make each year and compare it to previous years. This might give an indicator if a pharmacy’s revenues, for instance, jumped highly. This may indicate that such a revenue is suspected and review for such revenues is required by