Can Canadian Drugstores Save State And Municipal Budgets?

Times are tough and the squeeze on state and city budgets is prompting some government officials to break the law. Like millions of senior citizens who travel to Canada or shop online for prescription drugs, the mayor of Springfield, MA, is trying to save money.
The FDA and the pharmaceutical industry are adamantly opposed to Americans buying prescription medicines in other countries. The agency claims that this could allow unsafe or counterfeit drugs into the country.
Despite such arguments, the House of Representatives recently passed a bill permitting citizens to purchase their prescription drugs abroad to save money. Outraged by the high cost of medicines, Congressmen voted to allow pharmacies, wholesalers and individuals to import pharmaceuticals.
Nothing in the bill addressed the issue of state or municipal governments providing health care for employees or retirees. But prescription drug bills are straining these budgets too and officials are considering money-saving maneuvers. One is to import prescription drugs from Canada at a fraction of the cost.
Springfield mayor Michael Albano has been fretting that his city’s bill for prescription drugs has more than doubled over his eight years in office. He found that by buying prescription drugs in Canada, he could save taxpayers $850 a year on his family’s bills alone. Overall, the city could save as much as $4 million.
Other officials are paying attention. Mayors from states as far-flung as California and Nebraska have inquired about Springfield’s voluntary employee program, and Governor Rod Blagojevich of Illinois has a task force studying the option.
The governor has said he does not want to break the law. But he would like to see it changed, so that Illinois citizens could get safe medicines more cheaply.
Some officials doubt that the FDA’s safety objections are justified. They point to Health Canada’s excellent record of protecting Canadians from counterfeit or substandard drugs.
In fact, some argue that Canadian drugs have more safeguards than U.S. medicines. The FDA recently seized thousands of pill bottles from a drug repacker because of quality control problems.
Repackaging, in which large lots of pills are distributed into smaller bottles, is common in the U.S., but Canada bans this practice. Repackers have occasionally been the source of diluted or counterfeit drugs. Large quantities of bogus Lipitor were discovered earlier this year.
If a consumer chooses to buy drugs from Canada despite FDA’s warning that such purchases are illegal, is there any way to make sure that the online pharmacy is actually in Canada and not in Vietnam or Vanuatu?
Here are guidelines to help:
* Check the Web site for the pharmacy’s name, address, phone number and license number (required by Canadian law).
* Be wary of any online pharmacy that does not require a prescription. Canadian drugstores require a Canadian physician to review each prescription.
* If in doubt, check with the provincial pharmacy regulatory agency to verify legitimacy.
Until Congress and the FDA resolve their legal squabbles, consumers are on their own. Buying drugs on the Web can save money, but it calls for caution.