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Thursday, March 31, 2005
Pharmacists fault Maine drug plan
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AUGUSTA — Maine pharmacists and their Canadian counterparts questioned prescription drug reimportation plans in Maine on Wednesday, saying they will hurt Canadian druggists and pose a safety threat to consumers. The Maine Pharmacy Association and the Ontario Pharmacists' Association said drugs purchased from foreign sources pose safety risks. "Drugs that enter Canada to be exported to customers in the United States are not subject to review or regulation by Health Canada. There is no guarantee that imported drugs are safe," said Christopher Gauthier, board chairman of the Maine Pharmacy Association. Maine Gov. John Baldacci has asked the federal government to allow the state to reimport drugs, which would be distributed by the Penobscot Indians from their reservation in Old Town. Other reimportation proposals are pending in the State House. Supporters of the plans say they want to make medicines less expensive, especially for older people who can't afford American prescription prices. State officials say Baldacci's initiative would save the state $5 million a year and provide jobs and other benefits to the Penobscot tribe. U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt cautioned Americans about ordering drugs over the Internet. "People are beginning to represent that a particular site is located in Canada when it's really located somewhere else in the world," Leavitt said during a meeting Wednesday with the editorial board of the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram. In some instances, drugs "purchased through so-called Canadian Web sites turned out to be fabrications," Leavitt said. Leavitt said that better solutions to lowering drug costs include encouraging the purchase of generic drugs.
- Staff Writer Josie Huang contributed to this report.
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