US citizens buying drugs from Canada?Follow

Should US citizens be allowed to buy drugs from Canada?

Many drugs can be purchased in Canada at significant discounts from the retail price in the US. Many US citizens are choosing between health care and other basic necessities (see, for example, http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04219/357527.stm ). Thus allowing people to buy cheaper drugs raises quality of life for many and ultimately saves lives.

On the other hand, it is illegal. The US Food and Drug Agency (FDA) is indicating it cannot ensure the safety. Also, it hurts the drug companies which ultimately may mean less money for drug development and thus fewer new drugs in the future, ultimately costing quality of life for many, and the lives of some.

Which should it be?

Note: I do have a strong opinion on this issue, but I'm trying to be neutral in asking the question. I honestly want to see what people think, within the US and abroad.

Well, many people simply cannot afford drugs in the US. To them it may be a life or death issue or at the very least seriously impair their quality of life. To them the issue is very black and white.

Perhaps, as the richest nation in the world we need to address the deeper issue of why so many people are unable to afford basic life sustaining medications.

I posted on this recently. I believe the Canadian drugs should be imported to the United States to save cost.

Right now certain states such as Vermont are suing the FDA for blocking import of perfectly legal and approved drugs from Canada. Turns out if they buy drugs for state employees through canada they can save millions of dollars per year.

Here is the post

https://everquest.allakhazam.com/forum.html?forum=4&mid=1092338905821126250

I think if regulated there should be no problem. Drug companies make insane profits, yes they spend a lot of money developing and researching but the profit is insane.

Frankly i think going with cheaper canadian drugs is better than Bush's new medicare package which pays for seniors drugs but pretty much lets the drug companies set the price.

Ya i see it all the time happening...... wait a min your talking about prescription drugs.... ~No Comment~

"Can't gurantee safety" is the best crazy ******** dodge in a long history of crazy ******** dodges.

The best part is that drugs in the US and Canada nearly all come sealed from litterally the same factories. The US versions don't have french language packaging, though. Therefore they're safer because people won't get confused looking for directions.

Just an example here on the diffrence in cost. My grandmother needs several meds these days. Before she started getting her medications from Canada she was spending $400 a month (with insurance mind you). She has since switched over to buying from Canada and spends about $150 total for the same drugs. This is a woman who is retired and has no other income incoming except social security and she has to spend THAT much money for the same drugs if they come from the good ole USA? How are people supposed to live like that?
Go Canada!

Does anyone actually oppose this re-importation? Specifically, do any voting American's actually oppose this?

Here we have a major issue, effecting the health and general wellbeing of millions and we can't get a single person to support our fearless leader?

Please, if I have not laid out the master reason for dissing drugs from Canada well enough - if I let my bias show in the question - please correct me.

Some of these drugs are identical copies from America. Why, exactly, aren't these OK for re-import?

That will never happen through an actual pharmacy, Canada has their own version of the FDA that tries to make everything is safe. It maybe more lenient and quicker on the release of over the counter drugs, but it does try and make sure everything is safe just as hard as the US FDA.

Then there is the fact that it is the same drug comapanies making the drugs in Canada as the US, since the drug companies wouldnt stand for anyone to make money off of their name. Overall the only reason not to import drugs from Canada, is the drug companies dont want to lose profits.

I usually withhold my opinion on anything in here. However, this is an issue that really affects me. Let me state that if I could move to Canada, I would be gone ASAP.

I do not have any health care at all. I haven't had for several years. I have high blood pressure and the doc put me on Lopressor, it's cheap -- $15 at Wal-Mart. However the side effects are horrendous! For three years I gained weight, got more tired and gained more weight. I complained to my doc and her only answer was, "you are depressed, here take this," and to "exercise more."

First problem was, I was too tired to exercise, some times too tired to get out of bed. Second, I wasn't depressed. I know depressed and that wasn't it. I didn't feel taking a pill that makes me sleep even more was the answer. I got fed up and weaned myself off the Lopressor and haven't been back to that doctor since.

Fast forward to present. I have a new doctor who changed my medication to something else when I finally stopped taking Lopressor for several months and almost died. He stated I was probably allergic to other drug. They also think I had a mini-stroke but can't test me as I can't afford the testing. My new medication is called Diovann, $60 a month. To some that isn't much, but to me at this point in my life (divorce, moving etc), that $60 is A LOT. I also have allergies that we have dealt with and that costs me another $140. I am the most energetic I have been in years and feel like I got my life back! I have enough energy to hop on the treadmill, or take my daughter to the park, etc.

My Gram lives in Yuma 6 months out of each year and could get me the meds from Mexico. However, I would rather import my meds from Canada as I believe their guidelines are much stricter. My step mother says it is also legal in the state of Oklahoma and that she would fill out the necessary paper work for me, as I have no clue where to start.

If I had the cash to afford the higher prices, I would of course, buy from my homeland. With good paying jobs being difficult to find, I'm all for doing what will save me money. If I save $100 on my meds, that's $100 more I can spend on food to make sure my daughter eats every day.

It's just a matter of drug company and insurance lobbies having their way with the lawmaking process.

It's getting worse and worse. My health coverage has gone up 3x in the past 18 months. I expect another rate hike at the end of this year.

Soon, it will be cheaper for me to ditch it and bank the premium money and just negotiate for my health care; though it will pain me to go back to selling myself.

If you think that the drugs you get from Canada are different from American versions, you are completely wrong. I am a Canadian in pharmacology, training to be a pharmacist, I have made many of the drugs you take. I can make Tylenol (acetaminophenol) out of benzene (found in crude oil) bleach and acetic acid (vinegar), not to mention codein, nad countless other drugs. True much of the money goes into R&D, sadly in the states a lot of it goes into cosmetic research, but if we live in a free market soceity with free trade and all that good stuff, competition is healthy. There is absolutely no difference in drug except maybe the name, and the filler. The active compound itself is chemically identical.