Sunday, September 14, 2003

From HealthCentral.com:
Feds Pledge Continued Crackdown on Imported Prescriptions
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Friday that it has launched investigations into 95 Web sites for allegedly selling imported prescription drugs illegally, and that many of them could face legal action that could include forced shutdown.

The FDA said it also has e-mailed nearly 200 "cyber warning letters" to domestic and foreign online sellers, informing them the sites are violating U.S. law. The agency says its enforcement efforts are increasingly focusing on storefront U.S. businesses -- most of which have opened this year -- that import prescription drugs and sell them to Americans.

From the Indianapolis Business Journal:
Canada drug debate rages
The Indiana Board of Pharmacy welcomed Sam Doss to the local pharmaceutical front with a warning letter that arrived on his first day of business.

Doss opened a storefront called Rx Depot on North Shadeland Avenue last month in an attempt to help people order prescription drugs from Canada. He lasted only a week after the letter informed him that he might be breaking the law.

From the Boston Herald:
Springfield mayor to meet with FDA
Springfield's mayor, who started a controversial program to buy drugs from Canada for city workers, plans to meet Tuesday with the head of the federal agency that opposes the practice as unsafe and illegal.

From WXOW (WI):
Pharmacy Society Meets to Discuss Issues
Some are importing drugs and medicine from Canada to keep costs down. According to the Chairperson of the Wisconsin Pharmacy Examining Board, importing drugs violated federal law. Patients could receive unsafe prescriptions or even counterfeit drugs.

From the Pittsburgh Channel:
Discount Drug Stores Face Government Lawsuit
Many people go to Canada to get drug prescriptions filled because it can be cheaper there. But Action News finds that the government doesn't want everyone in on the Canada connection.

Team 4's Paul Van Osdol reports that the government filed an injunction Thursday in an effort to shut down a chain of stores that helps people get drugs from Canada. The store is called Rx Depot, and there are three of them in western Pennsylvania.

From WISH-TV (IN):
RX Depot Owner Challenged
The owner of a new kind of drug store is fighting to keep the store open after only being in business for ten days.

The Indiana Pharmacy Board is asking the attorney general's office to look at RX Depot because it says the business is acting like a pharmacy without a license.

From the Louisville (KY) Courier Journal:
Canadian drug outlet opens in the Highlands
A business has opened on Bardstown Road to sell low-priced prescription drugs from Canada, and the Kentucky Board of Pharmacy plans to investigate whether it's legal.

U.S. Canadian Drug Connection may be the first such business in Kentucky, said Michael Moné, executive director of the pharmacy board.

From the Denver Post:
Rx of Canada defies order to shut stores
Rx of Canada stores in Denver and Boulder will remain open despite a U.S. government order to shut down and a complaint alleging the company is illegally reimporting U.S.-made pharmaceuticals.

From the Fort Wayne (IN) News Sentinel:
Cheap Canadian drugs may be fakes
Canada has a well-regulated pharmaceutical industry and many Canadian Internet pharmacies appear to be reputable.

The FDA has been cracking down on illegal "storefronts" and Web pharmacies. Be aware that some of these enterprises aren't even in Canada and some are not licensed. They may advertise "Canadian" drugs but get them from other countries or use counterfeits.
From the Seattle Post Inelligencer:
Regulators order Iowa pharmacy closed
The Iowa Board of Pharmacy declared the Union Family Pharmacy an immediate threat to the public. The Dubuque Drug Task Force and federal Drug Enforcement Agency officers took control of Union Family Pharmacy, immediately closing the prescription department.

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