Information on Canadian Prescription Drugs

With prices continuing to rise for health care, Americans turned north toward Canada for buying prescription medicines. For those near the border, a short drive into Canada to visit an actual brick-and-mortar drugstore isn't out of the question, but for those further away, Internet and mail-order pharmacies sprang up in the early 2000s to fill orders from the United States.

Legality

• Under the rules and regulations of the United States Prescription Drug Marketing Act of 1987, signed into law on April 12, 1988, it is illegal for prescription drugs purchased from other countries to enter the United States. The only way for drugs to legally enter the US is through importation by the original manufacturer of the drug. (See References 1.) PDMA was meant to ensure that only safe prescriptions sold by verifiable sources could benefit patients.

Significance

• The significance of the Prescription Drug Marketing Act meant that thousands of U.S. citizens entering Canada for affordable medicine were considered criminals. In just the time span of November 2005 through mid-July 2006, an estimated 40,000 prescriptions mailed to the U.S. were confiscated by the FDA under the assumption that the medicines could be counterfeit and unsafe for human use. (See References 3.) Decisions made during the George W. Bush administration, however, relaxed the law. Agents of the Customs and Border Protection Agency are no longer confiscating prescription drugs for the FDA from individuals who have purchased a 90-day personal supply from a Canadian pharmacy. (See References 2.)

Safety of Canadian Drugs

• Canadian drugs must go through testing that is similar to what the Food and Drug Administration does with granting approval for medicines intended for human use. Health Canada is the Canadian federal department that supervises scientific research on health-care and medicine; disseminates information on disease prevention and risks; and encourages Canadians to be physical and smart about eating, and posts warnings and recalls just as the U.S. FDA does.

Profit

• According to Dr. Marcia Angell, the former executive editor of The New England Journal of Medicine, there is no reason that buying drugs in Canada is any less safe than buying them in the United States. Many American drug manufacturers do not make their medicines within the boundaries of the U.S. Lipitor, for instance, is made in Ireland and sold under the same name in both the U.S. and Canada; the same is true for Zocor, Nexium, and Prevacid medications. It all comes down to profit, according to Angell, as the U.S. is the only Western country without price control on prescription drugs sales. More than half the profits made by drug manufacturers comes from sales within the U.S.; and many drug companies joined the FDA to keep imported drugs from coming across the border.

Potential Pro and Con

• The major reason U.S. citizens buy Canadian drugs is to save money. Studies done on a three-month supply of Zocor, a cholesterol medication, show it costs $327.86 when purchased on line from a U.S. pharmacy, but only $189.55 when ordered from a Canadian Internet pharmacy. (See References 1) Potential cons come about when U.S. users reply to unofficial Internet or mail- or phone-orders and succumb to scams.

Warnings

• To protect against scams and ensure you are getting legitimate Canadian prescriptions, follow these tips: Make sure that you are purchasing from a licensed pharmacy. Check that their Canadian license number and a physical address are displayed on their website; check with Health Canada if you have concerns. Deal only with pharmacies who insist you need a prescription; avoid sites that claim no prescriptions are needed in order to place an order. Do not place an Internet order with a company that aggressively and indiscriminately markets medications to everyone on the web. Look for the Canadian International Pharmacy Association (CIPA) logo on the pharmacy's website. (See Resources 2.)