From Newsday (NY):
State lawmakers explore Canadian drug importation
Connecticut lawmakers, faced with a growing state budget deficit, are exploring the idea of buying cheaper prescription drugs from Canada.

Leaders of the legislature's Public Health, Aging and Human Services committees will meet with former Springfield Mayor Michael Albano on Wednesday to hear about his city's successful Canadian drug program.

Municipal officials from around the state are also being invited to the forum to hear about the illegal drug reimportation program that launched Albano and his city into the national spotlight.

From the Globe and Mail:
Pharmacy chain links past to future
Back when the boomers were kids and they had scrapes or sore throats, it's likely their parents reached for something in the medicine cabinet that bore the Rexall name and signature orange and royal blue colours.

But as the big-box retail trend squeezed out the friendly neighbourhood pharmacy, Rexall stores, along with the brand, became few and far between.

By the time Daryl Katz, founder of Katz Group (a consolidator of mom-and-pop pharmacies across Canada), bought what was left of Rexall's Canadian presence in 1996, there were only 36 stores operating across the country.

Edmonton-based Katz is now the largest pharmaceutical retailer across the country, operating 1,500 stores in Canada as well as an additional 200 stores south of the border, compared with the 800 outlets under the Shoppers Drug Mart banner, and filling more than 75 million prescriptions a year.

From the Berkshire (Mass) Eagle:
Discount Drugs plans to open
Despite the lack of a permit, entrepreneur Kurt Bricault said he plans to open the doors of his Discount Drugs of Canada affiliate at 85 Main St. on Monday morning.

He said he will open without a city-approved special permit allowing an "Internet pharmaceutical business" because he feels there is no need for one.

W.Va. court decision approves importing of drugs from Canada
One Internet company that permitted access to Canadian drugs was recently shut down by a court, while another was allowed to keep operating by a different court.

Just how those judicial decisions will affect the proposal of Houghton Street resident Kurt Bricault to open the same type of business in North Adams remains to be seen.

From the Wisconsin State Journal:
Dave Zweifel: Drug firms pull out stops on imports (editorial)
The Bush administration, doing the bidding of the big drug corporations, wants to make it next to impossible for U.S. citizens to buy their drugs in Canada.

The Food and Drug Administration insists that Americans can't be sure the drugs from Canada are safe, therefore it won't give its OK to state governments, co-ops and others who would like to save about a third of the cost of prescription drugs by going through Canadian pharmaceutical channels.

Canada, who some say has more safeguards over its prescription drug system than the United States has over its, also has cost controls on those drugs, which help account for the lower prices. Plus the efficiencies of its single-payer health care system, which the powers-that-be in the U.S. refuse to acknowledge, contribute to lower consumer costs.

From the Tuscaloosa (AL) News:
Montgomery ordering drugs from Canada for workers, retirees
For the past year, the city of Montgomery has been quietly offering its employees and retirees a voluntary mail-order program to obtain Canadian drugs at a reduced price.

Only problem is a high-ranking Food and Drug Administration official says the Canadian drugs are illegal and he did not know about Montgomery's program until recently. He said the program appears to be a violation of federal law.