Should We All Move to Canada?

The U.S. Drug Sales Story

Many other developed countries have put strict limitations on the drug prices that can be charged to their citizens. The United States, however, has shied away from setting drug prices, a situation that leaves American consumers in the unenviable position of having to foot a disproportionate share of the worldwide bill for drug development, manufacturing and advertising. Because of the disparity between the prices of pharmaceutical products inside and outside the United States, Americans living in border states have for years been crossing the frontier into Canada (and to a lesser extent, into Mexico and other countries) to purchase their medications at discounted prices. This demand even led to the growth of a tour bus service sub-business specializing in bus tours to Canada for the sole purpose of transporting consumers across the border to get their medications at low prices. Although such practices might technically be considered illegal, Americans have generally been allowed to bring medications for their own use home with them from foreign countries. However, drugs imported for personal use into the United States from Canada over the Internet and through mail-order almost universally violate the Federal Food Drug and Cosmetics Act (FFDCA) because they are unapproved (21 U.S.C. ' 355), are labeled incorrectly (21 U.S.C. ” 352, 353), or are dispensed without a valid prescription (21 U.S.C. ' 353(b)(1)). Importing a drug into the United States that is unapproved and/or does not comply with the labeling requirements in the FFDCA is prohibited under 21 U.S.C. ” 331(a), and/or (d).

The advent of the Internet has multiplied cross-border drug sale commerce exponentially, making pharmaceutical manufacturers, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and others very nervous. What started as a trickle of Internet-savvy drug purchasers accessing low-priced pharmaceuticals in other countries has turned into a national movement involving individuals and local and state governments defying the federal government's ban on imported drugs.

Federal Government Commissions a Study