Dangerous Doddering Drug Dealers

That's right,  that's me!

People who use a lot of prescription medicines cannot be trusted to find them on their own.  They need guidance.  For example,  Long's Drugs now adds this message to its on-line refill confirmations:

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS: ILLEGAL IMPORTATION  A GROWING DANGER
The number of websites and misleading ads promising legal, safe and cheap prescription drugs from Canada are growing daily. These schemes are neither legal nor safe... and often, the drugs are no cheaper than in the U.S.

Of course, doing a little checking reveals that Longs does NOT post prices on the Internet,  whereas Walgreens and COSTCO do.

For some reason,  Canadian pharmacies usually post their prices.  For most prescriptions,  there is a really BIG difference.  See for yourself.

Unsafe at Any Age

Pat K, at the Benicia Research Department,  got curious about what was so bad about buying drugs in Canada or Mexico.

"Right now, it [buying drugs from Canada] is technically illegal,  under another law that makes importing drugs illegal.  That has to do with war on drugs, drug lords, etc.  However, for years Customs has looked the other way on prescrips for personal use.  Note that HHS Secty has the power to sign a WAIVER, allowing importation of drugs approved by the FDA,  if HHS finds they are safe.  However,  neither Clinton nor Bush HHS Secretaries have been willing to sign.  Homework:  why?"

Ho ho ho ho ho ... hmmmmmmm ... I do believe I am beginning to see a little light here. Some quick research on the Internet yielded much veeeeerrrrry interesting info

 ... Like that during the 106th Congress, US Rep. Marion Berry of Arkansas, the only registered pharmacist in the Congress, "wrote and introduced the International Prescription Drug Parity Act ... which was the legislative vehicle used to legalize the importation and re-importation of prescription drugs." Ooooohhh ... but the prospect of such a law did not sit well with the U.S. pharmaceutical manufacturing industry who have up until now enjoyed a virtual monopoly on the sale of drugs in this country. Despite that, Congress did pass the law in December of 2000 at the tail end of the Clinton presidency.

 "Unfortunately, then-Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala temporarily delayed the implementation of the measure by discouraging its implementation in a letter to President Clinton before the transition. Since that time, HHS has not honored the intent of the Congress, and the Bush Administration has demonstrated no interest in executing the law.

"In fact, HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson in July sent a letter to U.S. Senator James Jeffords (I-Vt.) indicating that he will not implement the law due to safety concerns." (1) So I went and found that letter and discovered that "reimportation of prescription drugs by pharmacies and drug wholesalers would remove products from the thorough safety and effectiveness monitoring overseen by HHS' Food and Drug Administration ... 'Opening our borders as required under this program would increase the likelihood that the shelves of pharmacies ... across the nation whould include counterfeit drugs, cheap foreign copies of FDA-approved drugs, expired drugs, contaminated drugs, and drugs stored under inappropriate and unsafe conditions,' he said in the letter." (2)

OH MY GOD! WE CAN'T HAVE THIS!!

Or can we? I then went looking for opinions, and found a piece in Reuters Health from April of 2003 that explained a few things. Like that "at issue is how dangerous the practice really is." Apparently the pharmaceutical companies go whole hog playing up the dangers to scare the (easily scared) American public, while neglecting to mention that "regulation of Canadian pharmacies, by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's own admission, is just as good as regulatory oversight of pharmacies in America ..." [Emphasis mine]

' "The key issue here is whether a person is buying from a regulated and licensed pharmacy in the country from which they think they are purchasing," said Peter Wyckoff, executive director of the Minnesota Senior Federation Metropolitan Region, which offers a drug discount program through a Canadian exporter.' (3)

Oh, and also ran across this FAQ at a government site:

"Q. Do I face any potential liability for importing drugs?

"A. It's possible. Anyone can be fined or even imprisoned for violating the federal laws that prohibit drug importation. For example, anyone who violates the law against reimporting prescription drugs originally made in the U.S. can be fined up to $250,000 and imprisoned up to ten years." (4)

Oh, well, Professor. At least you'll get three squares a day in the klinker. And if you're in jail, isn't the government responsible for your medicine, too???   ;-)

(1) http://www.house.gov/apps/list/speech/ar01_berry/col_010801_washingtonletter.html

(2) http://www.os.dhhs.gov/news/press/2001pres/20010710.html

(3) HealthNews/reuters/NewsStory0416200330.htm (unavailable in 2007)
 

(4) http://www.nacds.org/user-assets/PDF_files/FAQ_Importation.pdf

December 1, 2003

Last update: 11/13/2007

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