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>N.C. pharmacists block cheap drugs > > > > > > > >The federal government isn't stopping older Americans >from buying cheaper prescription drugs from Canada, >but North Carolina pharmacists are trying to. > >Last week, the pharmacists got help from a judge. He >closed a business that helps people order >prescriptions from Canadian drug stores. Now the N.C. >Board of Pharmacy – five of whose six board members >are pharmacists – is expected to seek similar rulings >against other such businesses, including one in >Wilmington. > >Of course, the pharmacists insist this is for our own >good: We can't be sure whether drugs bought from >Canadians are what the doctor ordered. > >True enough. But neither can we be sure that drugs we >buy from Americans are what the doctor ordered. >Sometimes they're not. > >Though the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warns >against the potential dangers of buying from Canada, >it hasn't moved aggressively to stop Americans from >ordering from web sites or through businesses that >help them with the paperwork. > >These businesses aren't pharmacies and don't claim to >be. They don't have or dispense drugs. They don't >charge customers a dime. They simply help them order >drugs from pharmacies in Canada. The customer pays the >pharmacy. The pharmacy pays the business. The service >is particularly helpful for older people who don't use >the Internet. > >Judge Howard Manning dismissed the pharmacy board's >claim that such businesses cause "irreparable harm," >but closed one of them anyway because he said it >violates federal law. > >Whatever the merits of the legal arguments, the >spectacle of organized pharmacy trying to crush >low-cost competitors (as drug manufacturers rub their >hands in glee) is depressing. > >No sensible person believes it's desirable for >Americans to order prescriptions from another country >whose government, unlike ours, negotiates lower prices >for its citizens. > >But given the rising price of these drugs, and the >numbers of them that many people are supposed to take, >it's no wonder that some Americans, particularly >retirees trying to survive on Social Security, are >resorting to desperate measures. > >Programs aimed at helping people get drugs are >wonderful, but they can't solve a serious and growing >national problem. > >It's one thing to warn buyers of the risks they might >be running. It's another to deny them a way to get >drugs at prices they might be able to afford. > >Taking a foreign drug might be risky. Not taking any >drug at all might be fatal.

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