| Topic: |
Politics > Politics-USA |
| User: |
"PagCal" |
| Date: |
11 Feb 2006 03:43:20 AM |
| Object: |
US Prevents Citizens from Purchasing Canadian Drugs |
Bush is against free enterprise when it cost his big drug company pals
money.
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February 11, 2006
latimes.com : Business
More Medicines From Abroad Seized
By Lisa Girion, Times Staff Writer
The U.S. government apparently is stepping up seizures of cheap drugs
ordered by Americans — mainly seniors — from abroad, Canadian pharmacies
say.
The pharmacies, which sell drugs by mail and over the Internet, say
their shipments are being intercepted by U.S. Customs officials around
the country where foreign mail is handled.
"It's huge — we've had over 800 seizures in January," up from 15 in a
typical month, said Barney Britton, president of Calgary-based MinitDrugs.
Other pharmacies reported four- to five-fold increases. An informal
survey of 30 Canadian pharmacies that cater to American customers,
conducted by a senior-citizen advocacy website, showed that the rise
began in November, doubled in December and doubled again in January.
Health officials in Minnesota, the first of several states to make
cheaper Canadian drugs more readily available to its residents, echoed
the reports from north of the border. They said seizures increased in
late December from less than 1% to about 4% of shipments, said Brian
McClung, a spokesman for Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty.
Ordering drugs from abroad is illegal. But U.S. Customs and Food and
Drug Administration officials have generally allowed the practice, apart
from occasional seizures designed to publicize potential risks.
Federal regulators say that policy hasn't changed — and there is no
crackdown.
"It's not a special effort other than our normal enforcement," said Lynn
Hollinger, a spokeswoman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
People whose drugs are seized are not cited and generally are able to
get them replaced free of charge by the foreign pharmacy. But many
customers are infuriated.
"It's despicable," said Samuel Robert Greenberg, a Laguna Niguel retiree
who lost a package of anti-cholesterol pills and glaucoma eyedrops late
last month. "They are playing with people's lives."
Greenberg, 73, said he and his wife had bought drugs from Canadian
pharmacies for years without incident.
But if replacements for his Lipitor pills don't arrive by next week,
Greenberg said, he will have to buy from a local pharmacy at a cost of
about $3 a pill — a third more than he pays through the mail.
Greenberg said such seizures were a waste of government resources.
"Forget about the heroin," Greenberg said. "They are going to stop the
Lipitor."
Although the FDA has never taken enforcement action against an
individual for ordering prescription drugs from abroad, it has conducted
a handful of what it calls "blitzes" over the last five years in
cooperation with the Customs Service at international mail centers.
The FDA analyzed the drugs seized in those cases and publicized their
findings in an effort to warn mail-order customers about the risks of
getting the wrong medication, poor-quality substitutes or counterfeits.
Some Canadian pharmacy operators believe U.S. authorities timed the
latest seizures to coincide with the Jan. 1 launch of Medicare's
drug-discount program, which competes for the business of American seniors.
"I think, quite frankly, that [U.S. authorities] see an opportunity,"
said Britton of MinitDrugs. "They know that this would probably be the
most vulnerable time for us."
Canadian pharmacies report declines of 10% to 30% in U.S. orders since
the Medicare program began. But many seniors, particularly those whose
drug needs are modest, find Canadian pharmacies are cheaper.
According to a Kaiser Family Foundation study published in 2004, 25% of
eligible seniors — as many as 7.4 million people — could pay less buying
drugs on their own. If too few seniors sign up for the Medicare drug
plan, experts say, the program could run into financial trouble.
Most Canadian pharmacies accept the cost of replacing seized drugs to
preserve an $800-million market that serves about 2 million U.S.
customers. Over the last five years, less than 1% of all shipments have
been seized, said Andy Troszok, president of the Canadian International
Pharmacy Assn.
The association has not yet determined how much that rate has increased.
But so far, he said, the seizures do not represent a serious threat.
"We are currently still chalking it up as the cost of doing business,"
said Troszok, who owns Extended Care Pharmacy in Calgary.
The pharmacies learn of the confiscations from customers who have
received seizure notices. A customer also can use a tracking number to
find out what happened.
A sudden, unannounced policy of increased enforcement — after years of
looking the other way — would be irresponsible, Troszok said.
"It's an issue of patient safety," he said. "We're not talking about
Viagra and narcotics abuse. We are talking about people with breast
cancer, heart disease and diabetes and are established on medication.
Who is going to be liable for these people going off medical regimens
and suffering or even dying?"
Canadian pharmacies, which are able to purchase brand-name drugs at low
wholesale prices negotiated with the purchasing power of the Canadian
government, already had been adapting to increasing political and market
pressure.
When major drug makers began curbing sales to Canadian pharmacies that
shipped to the U.S., many began ordering in bulk from drug factories in
Europe, India and Israel.
"The business just gets smarter and adapts," said Bill Pigden, business
development manager for CanAmerica Global Health Services, a
Winnipeg-based pharmacy.
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| User: "" |
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| Title: Re: US Prevents Citizens from Purchasing Canadian Drugs |
11 Feb 2006 07:49:05 AM |
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I don't recall Clinton doing anything to enable drugs from Canada, or
to legalize medical marijuana. Both major US political parties are
whores.
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| User: "" |
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| Title: Re: US Prevents Citizens from Purchasing Canadian Drugs |
11 Feb 2006 03:50:29 PM |
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wrote:
I don't recall Clinton doing anything to enable drugs from Canada, or
to legalize medical marijuana. Both major US political parties are
whores.
And med price went up how much 2001-2005 ? Free trade is only good when
it benefits the country club crowd.
Many human drugs have veterinary versions. When "fido" is feeling
arthritic, visit
your Vet.
JG
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| User: "PagCal" |
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| Title: Re: US Prevents Citizens from Purchasing Canadian Drugs |
12 Feb 2006 04:48:51 AM |
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Can't recall the differences in the parties? Here's a primer:
Policy Clinton Bush
Restrict Canadian Drugs No Yes
Prevent Medicare from
negotiating prices No Yes
Introduce confusing drug plan
that leaves the poorest
without coverage No Yes
Contained Sadam Yes Yes
American Deaths doing same 0 2200+
Terrorist Attacks Tripple
during their administration No Yes
Starting to see the difference?
roger61611@yahoo.com wrote:
I don't recall Clinton doing anything to enable drugs from Canada, or
to legalize medical marijuana. Both major US political parties are
whores.
.
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