Foreign drugs can be a risk or a bargain

From the Los Angeles Times:
Obtaining low-cost drugs from Canada, Mexico and other foreign countries is a controversial method for shaving prescription expenses.

In most instances it is illegal, but authorities often take a "don't ask, don't tell" approach to the practice as long as consumers are purchasing nonnarcotic drugs for personal use.

Residents of border states such as Michigan and California have frequented foreign pharmacies for years. Buying from abroad via the Internet or mail order carries additional risk, experts warn, because consumers can't be sure of the source of the drugs.

This month, Sens. Byron L. Dorgan (D-N.D.) and Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine) introduced drug importation legislation that creates a legal and regulated system for buying drugs from foreign countries. ...more

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