Q. I've begun to take a prescribed drug that is very expensive and not covered by my insurance. I see that it is available at much lower cost from Canada via the Internet.
Are there any safety concerns in buying from Canada? Are the drugs the same as those sold in the US? Thanks for your assistance.
A. If you were traveling to Canada and buying your medicines in person, you would not need to worry about the quality of the medications. Canadian pharmacies are carefully regulated.
On the Internet, however, pharmacies can easily pose as Canadian even if they are not. One reader sent this report:
“I bought $300 of pills from an online pharmacy. I thought it was in Canada but I received an unlabelled plastic bag with the pills this Saturday. The delivery paperwork listed the originating office as Dandong, China–not Canada!
“Worse yet, I tried one of the pills and it had no effect. I suspect they are bogus imitation pills with no active medicine whatsoever. I know this because I have experience buying this prescription in the US and the pills work every time. Please pass the word about this fraud.”
We are sending you our Guide to Saving Money on Medicine with strategies for buying prescription drugs online safely and other ways to save.
