This morning, Senator Coons and his colleagues on the Judiciary Committee approved legislation to fight a dangerous and growing class of crimes – the theft and illegal trafficking of pharmaceuticals.
The SAFE DOSES Act, co-sponsored by Senator Coons, passed the committee unanimously.
Between 2007 and 2009, the value of medicine stolen rose an estimated 350%, putting Delawareans at risk of unwittingly consuming dangerous or tainted pharmaceuticals. As co-chair of the Senate Law Enforcement Caucus, Senator Coons has worked hard to ensure law enforcement officers have the tools they need to combat this rapidly increasing type of crime.
The new law increases the criminal penalties for the theft of pre-retail medical products, including counterfeiting the label of a drug before it hits store shelves. If the value stolen is over $5,000, the penalty can be up to 15 years in prison, and if a consumer or patient suffers serious bodily harm from the hijacked medicine, that doubles to 30 years. In addition, civil penalties and restitution provisions will further deter the theft or counterfeiting of medical products.