Consumers Confused About Canadian Drugs

Many Americans suffer sticker shock when they buy medicine at their local drugstore. They would like to save money by purchasing prescription drugs from Canada. But they are bewildered by contradictory messages about Canadian pharmacies.
States are also having a hard time balancing their budgets due to skyrocketing drug costs for employees and retirees. To ease the burden, several states have set up Web sites to help citizens order prescription medicines from approved Canadian online pharmacies. Prices of brand name prescriptions are often significantly lower north of the border.
The FDA is furious. It is illegal to import drugs although the agency rarely enforces this law. The FDA also argues that Americans buying drugs abroad could get substandard medicines.
The feds have warned governors like Rick Perry of Texas that encouraging residents to buy Canadian drugs will endanger their health. State lawmakers respond, “what’s more unsafe: Taking a drug from Canada or not taking your medication because you cannot afford it?”
To confuse matters more, Canada’s Health Minister, Ujjal Dosanjh, made headlines when he announced that Canada will no longer be the “drug store for the United States.” He plans to ban bulk drug exports to America.
Headlines make it seem as if this maneuver will shut down the online, cross-border trade in prescription medicine. But consumers don’t buy in bulk. The proposed ban shouldn’t affect individuals trying to save money on their own medications.
The pharmaceutical industry has also weighed in on this controversy. Several companies have cut off supplies to Canadian drug stores that sell prescription medicines to Americans.
The crux of the argument is that Canada is a source of counterfeit drugs. The pharmaceutical industry maintains that importation represents a safety risk.
It is certainly true that consumers need to be wary of Web-based pharmacies. Many that claim to be based in Canada are really located elsewhere, with little or no regulation. A person who intends to purchase from a Canadian Web site should check for the provincial pharmacy license number and a physical address and telephone number in that province.
We offer more details in our Guide to Saving Money on Medicine. Anyone who would like a copy, please send $2 in check or money order with a long (no. 10) stamped (60 cents), self-addressed envelope: Graedons’ People’s Pharmacy, No. CA-99, P. O. Box 52027, Durham, NC 27717-2027.
Counterfeit drugs are uncommon in Canada. In a recent case a pharmacy dispensed counterfeit Norvasc, but such incidents are rare. Unlike the U.S., Canada establishes prescription drug prices. There are relatively few wholesalers and no repackaging of medications.
In the U.S., however, repackaging is common and there is a flourishing wholesale trade. Small companies buy and sell a variety of prescription medicines, which allows counterfeit drugs to enter the supply chain. In the book Dangerous Doses: How Counterfeiters Are Contaminating America’s Drug Supply, author Katherine Eban documents the nature of this gray market.
The FDA won’t admit it, but buying drugs from legitimate Canadian pharmacies may be safer than buying from the drugstore down the block.