U.S. Green Light on Internet Pharmacy Threatens Public Health and Safety in Canada

Political Deal Needs Decisive Response by Ottawa to Protect Canadian Drug Supply

TORONTO, Oct. 5 /CNW/ - The return to a hands-off policy by U.S. Customs
on prescription drugs purchased by American patients from Canadian internet
pharmacies re-opens the door to the depletion of the Canadian drug supply and
threatens public health and safety in both countries, the Ontario Pharmacists'
Association warned today.

The Department of Homeland Security agreed with congressional leaders
this week to cease confiscation by Customs and Border Protection agents of
prescription drugs mailed from Canada, returning oversight of Canadian
prescription drug imports to the Food and Drug Administration, which lacks
capacity for inspection and enforcement. The political deal compounds the move
by Congress in September to permit "foot traffic" importation by U.S. patients
of a 90-day personal supply of prescription drugs, with the legislation
enacting the changes signed Wednesday by President George Bush. Together, the
moves effectively re-open all channels of cross-border prescription drug
importation by U.S. patients.

"We're back to a free-for-all for cross-border drugs," said Marc Kealey,
OPA Chief Executive Officer. "This is a blatant political deal to take high
U.S. prescription drug costs off the table as an issue for incumbents in the
U.S. mid-term elections. The problem is, no one bothered to ask Canada how we
feel about letting American patients come and raid our medicine chest."

"The climbdown on enforcement by Homeland Security means Congress doesn't
need another bill to expand the permitted forms of cross-border reimportation
to cover internet and mail-order sales. The Bush administration has done it
for them."

In late September, U.S. lawmakers tacked onto the Homeland Security
Appropriations Act 2007 a provision allowing American patients to visit Canada
in person to purchase and carry back across the border 90-day personal
supplies of prescription drugs. Both Republicans and Democrats seeking
re-election pushed the change, in response to intensive lobbying by patient
groups demanding access to lower-cost prescription drugs from Canada. The
in-person provision was intended as a compromise permitting limited
reimportation while not allowing for internet and mail-order drug importation.
But its favouritism of patients in border states led proponents to promise
future full-blown reimportation bill legislation. Such legislation has been
made moot by the hands-off Customs policy.

"Pharmacists here do not want to become America's drug store," said
Kealey. "Our job is to provide medications and expertise to Canadian patients,
not provide solutions for the shortcomings of the U.S. health care system and
its problem with high drug costs."

"U.S. demand is more than ten times the size of Canadian supply," said
Kealey. "We do not have the capacity to feed America's need for lower-cost
drugs, and unimpeded depletion of our supply poses a serious threat to public
health and safety in Canada."

"The response from Ottawa on this has been radio silence," Kealey
observed. "The Harper government has to wake up and take decisive action to
shut the door to Americans looking north for a solution to their drug supply
problem."

"American patients who bypass their own community pharmacists to buy
prescription drugs from Canada face their own health and safety threat,"
Kealey said. "They relinquish expert consultation and crucial
patient-pharmacist interaction, jeopardizing their health and risking
dangerous drug interactions."

While internet and mail-order drug importation remains technically
illegal for American patients, media reports indicate the hands-off policy is
seen as a green light by Canadian internet pharmacies.

"Legitimizing internet and mail-order drug traffic encourages fraud by
offshore criminals posing as Canadian pharmacists and selling counterfeit
drugs," warned Kealey. "This is not only a health and safety threat to
Americans, it creates a national security vulnerability by opening the door to
the potential for drug terrorism, with drugs used as a vehicle of attack."

U.S. Customs statistics on mail-order seizures show at least 10% of
packages purportedly from Canadian internet pharmacies contain counterfeit
drugs.

An April 2005 report to Congress warned "the nation's medicine supply is
vulnerable to exploitation by organized criminals, drug traffickers and
terrorists. We should not contemplate opening our borders to threats to our
medicine supply when in all other aspects we are searching for ways to tighten
the security of our borders."

For further information: or to arrange an interview, please contact
Yvonne Lee, Ontario Pharmacists' Association, Tel: (416) 441-0788 or
1-877-341-0788 ext. 4228

05 October 2006