Mexico pharmacies targeted

You can tell it's an election year in the United States. Over the last year, very little was heard about states working with foreign pharmacies. Now we are starting to hear about Canadian pharmacies again. The article below is the first mention I've seen of a state wanting to work with Mexican pharmacies.

From the (Phoenix) Arizona Republic:
Several states have direct links to Canadian pharmacies to ensure their citizens have access to less expensive prescription drugs.

Yet no state has such formal ties through Web sites or state-sponsored programs to pharmacies in Mexico.

But residents of Arizona and other Southwestern states routinely visit border towns such as Los Algodones near Yuma to buy prescription drugs at large pharmacies catering to tourists.

Now, Gov. Janet Napolitano and her counterparts on both sides of the U.S.-Mexican border have floated an idea that would scrutinize the safety of prescription drugs sold in Mexican border towns. They want to create a cross-border testing and inspection program to ensure drug safety.

Napolitano has initiated talks with Bush administration officials on what it would take to launch such a pilot program with cooperation on both sides of the border. ...more