Name (required):

  Expression ^{(Optional mood/title along with your name) Examples: (happy, sad, The Joyful, etc.) help)}

  E-mail address (optional):

Type your message here:
>Court rules against Canadian drug sales >Judge issues injunction against firm > >By BENJAMIN NIOLET, Staff Writer > > >DURHAM -- A judge ruled Friday that a Concord business >that helps North Carolina residents buy cheaper >prescription drugs from Canada violates state and >federal law and must be shut down. >The decision by Superior Court Judge Howard E. Manning >Jr. bolsters the efforts of the N.C. Board of Pharmacy >to close storefront businesses and Web sites that help >people order drugs from Canadian pharmacies. On >Friday, Manning granted a preliminary injunction >stopping the operations of Canada Outlet until the >case can be heard fully. > >Like other Canadian drug businesses in North Carolina, >Canada Outlet does not have a pharmacist on staff, >collects no money from customers and keeps no drugs on >its property. Its employees help customers transmit >prescription drug orders to a pharmacy in Winnipeg, >Manitoba, which offers brand names at much lower >prices than local pharmacies. Neither Canada Outlet >nor the Canadian pharmacy is licensed by the state >pharmacy board. > >Canada Outlet's attorneys argued that the business was >merely a "conduit," not a pharmacy. The judge rejected >the distinction. > >"Put any label on it you wish, Canada Outlet is part >of the overall scheme of introducing prescription >drugs into North Carolina in violation of federal >law," Manning wrote in his 35-page decision. > >The judge gave Canada Outlet until Feb. 2 to shut >down, allowing it time to wind up its business and >file an appeal. > >Attorneys for Canada Outlet said at a hearing in >November that shutting down the business would make it >impossible for the owners to afford their defense. >Dieter Mauch, a Durham attorney for the company, said >Friday that no decision had been made about an appeal. >Mauch said he was disappointed in the decision, which >he said relied on federal case law that wasn't >relevant. > >In his injunction, Manning found that the pharmacy >board had failed to prove an "irreparable harm" that >would have been caused by the business staying open. >But Manning ordered Canada Outlet closed anyway >because he said the business violates the state >Pharmacy Act, a public safety statute. > >The board had originally filed cease-and-desist orders >against six businesses across the state. One shut >down, and the board took five to court. Only Canada >Outlet defended itself. The board will likely seek >default judgments against the others, said Carson >Carmichael III of Raleigh, an attorney for the board. > >Discount drug businesses have popped up across the >nation and the Internet to take advantage of the lower >prices north of the border. The Canadian government >regulates the cost of prescription drugs. The Web >sites offer easy access to Canadian pharmacies. The >storefronts offer help to older customers who may not >know how to use the Internet. > >The federal government has sought to shut down similar >businesses in other states, but the Food and Drug >Administration doesn't stop individuals from buying >Canadian drugs, either in person or by mail. > >Clatie M. Collins and her son, Joe Collins, opened >Canada Outlet in May. A few months later, it had about >30 customers, according to Manning's ruling. By >November, it had 440. > >Pharmacy board Executive Director David Work said >Friday that the board sought to shut down the business >because it helps people get drugs that are outside the >regulation of the FDA. Work said the Canadian pharmacy >also failed to register with the pharmacy board, as >others who operate in North Carolina have done. > >"My main concern is, of course, safety and that >everyone be treated in the same way," Work said. > >The pharmacy board meets later this month, and it is >expected to turn its attention to two other businesses >still operating in the state, Work said. One is in >Pineville, and the other is in Wilmington, board >officials said. > >Two days a week, Vernon Tate works at Canada >Connection in Pineville. The business operates much >like Canada Outlet. Tate's older customers on a fixed >income talk all the time about having to choose >between buying food and medications, Tate said. > >"I don't work here for the money," Tate said. "I'm >helping people who need my help. But all I'm doing for >them is pointing them to the drugstore in Canada." > > >Staff writer Benjamin Niolet can be reached at >956-2404 or bniolet@newsobserver.com.

Notice: Copies of your message may remain on this and other systems on internet. Please be respectful.
The Voy.com User Agreement applies to all visitors.