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the statement by Gary Passmore, executive director of the Congress of
California Seniors about the visit to Canada, including Universal Drug
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Sacramento, CA, August 4, 2004 - Prescription drugs purchased through Canadian Internet pharmacies are safe, members of a legislative fact-finding mission to that country said Wednesday. At a press conference here, delegation members endorsed the idea of a state-sponsored Web site that would help California residents purchase cheap Canadian drugs. In doing so, they forcefully disputed U.S. Food and Drug Administration assertions that consumers who order drugs through Canada are taking big risks. "California seniors and consumers have been misled," said Gary Passmore, executive director of the Congress of California Seniors. "They have been frightened by drug makers and misled by the FDA with claims that drugs from Canada are not safe." The 11-member delegation -- made up of health officials, lobbyists and political aides -- reached its conclusions after touring last month four Canadian Internet pharmacies in three days. They were sent on the fact-finding mission to determine whether California consumers could safely purchase drugs from the facilities. Several bills concerning the importation of drugs from Canada are at various stages of the legislative process in the state Assembly and Senate. Fed up with sharply escalating costs of prescription drugs, legislators are looking north, where costs are about 40 percent cheaper, because of government-imposed price controls. SB 1149 sponsored by Sen. Deborah Ortiz, D-Sacramento, and Assembly Bill 1957 sponsored by Assemblyman Dario Frommer, D-Glendale, call for a state-sponsored Web site for consumers with links to Canadian Internet pharmacies. SB1149 would require the California Board of Pharmacy and a second organization called the Internet and Mailorder Pharmacy Accreditation Commission to certify all listed pharmacies. AB1957 would give that responsibility to the California Department of Health Services. A third bill, Senate Bill 1333 sponsored by Sen. Don Perata, D-Oakland, would also rely on Canadian Internet pharmacies. The legislation would allow California pharmacies that purchase drugs on behalf of Medi-Cal and the AIDS Drug Assistance Program to order through Canada. According to a nonprofit group called Medicine for People in Need, the cholesterol-lowering drug Lipitor costs about $95 for 30 pills when purchased from Costco.com and about $97 with a Medicare discount card. The same drug costs about $200 for 90 pills when ordered through a Canadian Internet facility called Granville Pharmacy. Passage of either SB1149 or AB1957 will make California the fifth state with a Web site directing consumers to Canadian Internet pharmacies. Minnesota, Wisconsin, New Hampshire, North Dakota and the city of San Francisco have already set up such sites. It's unclear whether the bills will make it to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's desk. Both bills have passed through one-half of the Legislature and are being considered by appropriations committees in the other house. But the bills are opposed by the California Board of Pharmacy. The agency said a Web site directing consumers to Canada would violate federal law. The California Legislative Counsel disagrees, saying a Web site would be legal. Narinder Singh, director of pharmacy for Santa Clara County and a member of the fact-finding delegation, was skeptical that Canadian pharmacies could provide a safe answer for Californians who can't afford U.S. prices. But he came away from the trip satisfied. Singh said he focused on making sure the drugs weren't counterfeit products from Third World countries. Drugs on the shelves all had identification numbers, indicating that Health Canada -- the Canadian equivalent of the FDA -- had approved them, he said. Singh was also appeased by policies followed by the Internet pharmacists when filling customer orders. The pharmacists asked for patients' medical histories and analyzed the possibility of bad drug interactions, he said. Despite the positive review, the FDA still insists that Canada is not a safe option. A tracking number does not guarantee safety, said William Hubbard, associate commissioner for policy and planning at the FDA. The numbers can easily be faked, he said. The FDA needs the authority to inspect the products if American consumers want guarantees of safety, Hubbard said. "The most important concern for the FDA is that we have no regulatory control over these products," he said. "I'm not saying that every American is getting a bad drug ... (but) we do know that there have been problems." Hubbard also insisted that the practice runs afoul of federal law. So far, the FDA has not sued states or cities that have posted Web sites. But at some point, it may come down to asking a judge to referee, he said. |
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Canadian drugs safe...perhaps
safer than
American pharmacies