Posted on 12/19/2002 6:12:33 PM PST by Black Powder
DELRAY BEACH, Fla. (AP) - Mary Jane Gregory walked out of Discount Drugs of Canada with a 33 per cent savings that outweighed any doubts about using the new store, which gets her prescription filled in distant Winnipeg.
"I don't know whether it's illegal or not, but it's right out here in the open," said Gregory, 71, who takes medicine for osteoporosis. "How bad can it be?" Shopping for cheaper foreign drugs isn't a new idea: Americans have done it discreetly through Web sites and excursions to Canada and Mexico for the past few years, as regulators tolerate an activity that is technically illegal.
But buying and selling now has moved into small storefront operations that are cropping up across the country, raising the convenience, volume and profile of cross-border buying to new levels.
Pharmacies are unhappy about it, but regulators don't yet seem ready to crack down on buyers, many of whom are older people on limited incomes.
Drug sales are required by law to be conducted by licensed pharmacies, and importing drugs by mail is illegal. Federal regulations allow travellers to bring in a 90-day personal supply of drugs - only if they aren't yet approved for sale in this country.
Earle Turow, who opened Discount Drugs two months ago in a busy medical centre, insists he's not breaking any laws because his store doesn't import or stock the medications people order.
Turow's store takes orders from customers and faxes them to a Canadian pharmacy, which then charges customers' credit cards and ships the drugs to their doors.
"We are strictly providing a service that people need," said Turow, 72, a retired clothing manufacturere who receives a commission from the pharmacy based on sales.
Similar ventures in Atlanta, Ga., in Scottsdale, Ariz., and at the Mall of America in Minneapolis, Minn., among other places, are attracting thousands of Americans - many of them retirees - who take prescription medicine regularly and have little or no insurance coverage for the drugs.
Turow said his customers save between 10 per cent and 90 per cent. In Gregory's case, the drug she takes for osteoporosis costs her $130 US for a three-month supply from Canada. At a U.S. pharmacy, the same money gets her two months' worth.
The Food and Drug Administration, which oversees the U.S. pharmaceutical industry, said its enforcement resources are focused on large commercial drug shipments and not mail-order imports by individuals.
The FDA admits the foreign prescription business is booming and estimates that at least two million personal shipments of drugs will cross the country's borders this year, twice as many as last year.
But FDA officials warn that imported drugs could be contaminated with impure or unknown ingredients, and note that the pharmacies which dispense them aren't under any U.S. supervision.
"What we are afraid of is when consumers are going outside the United States, they might be getting these risky drugs and suffer some serious and severe side effects," said Tom McGinnis, FDA pharmacy affairs director.
But many of these drugs are the same ones manufactured for sale in the United States. They are cheaper in Canada because of government caps on drug prices and because of the strength of the U.S. dollar compared with Canadian currency.
The lax enforcement has clouded many people's understanding of the law. Many mistakenly think it is legal to import drugs.
"I don't see what's illegal about getting something for cheaper somewhere else," said Mabelle London, another customer at Turow's shop.
London, 87, of Boca Raton, Fla., learned about the service from friends. She said it has helped cut the bill for her most expensive medication almost in half. She takes Plavix, a medication that helps prevent strokes and pays $184 for 90 pills to get them through Discount Drugs. Her local pharmacist charges $357.
The practice of cross-border buying is gaining credibility. Some pharmacy-benefits programs are moving to cover drug purchases made in Canada.
Importing prescription drugs also has been growing in popularity as an issue among lawmakers. In Minnesota, U.S. Senator Mark Dayton donates his annual Senate salary to subsidize monthly bus trips to Winnipeg.
Many candidates made the issue a centrepiece in their campaigns during the 2002 elections, particularly in Florida where the number of people over 65 has reached nearly three million.
U.S. lawmakers are working to pass a Medicare drug benefit to reduce drug prices for older Americans, but failed to approve a measure this summer. A pending law, approved in 2000, would allow companies to buy cheaper foreign drugs and resell them here if they are U.S.-made and approved. But the FDA hasn't carried out the measure because of concerns about safety.
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On the Net:
www.discountdrugsofcanada.com
www.prescriptiondrugscanada.com
www.canadarxshop.com
www.fda.gov/cder/drug/consumer/buyonline/guide.htm
FYI: For freepers near enough to the border thinking about buying in Canada, making the trip yourself can be more economical than buying online or at these mail-order depots.
Not true. I know for a fact that Kay-Beck has subsidized meds
Really, Watchie? And an American can walk into a pharmacy in Quebec and get subsidized medicine how exactly? Do you have a source verifying your apparent assertion that Quebec subsidizes medicine for EVERYONE?
We're talking about the general public here. There are programs in every region in Canada that provide subsidized prescriptions for certain groups. A lot of US jurisdictions have similar programs for the poor and elderly too. That's irrelevant here. Are there prescription subsidies for the general public? Nope.
Taking a quote out of context and using it to try to prove me wrong hasn't worked on other threads. Why keep trying it?
" Contrary to popular belief, prescription medicine in Canada is not free or subsidized."
That is just not true.
Quebec pays for a very big part of prescription drugs as part of it's socialized medicine program. I know this, because I was in the program. If I remember correctly Kay-Beck paid 80% of the cost. It only took a phone call to get in the program.
You know this. Why are you arguing?
"Contrary to popular belief, prescription medicine in Canada is not free or subsidized."
Yes, I did say that. I said it in response to messgage #3, which stated, "No doubt the Canadian taxpayer is just thrilled at their government subsidizing american prescription drugs." Your taking my comments out of context gave them a meaning that was never intended.
"Why are you arguing?"
I don't even know why I bother to reply to you at all. Please don't post to me any more.
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