State Boards of Pharmacy weigh in against importing drugs from Canada

Pharmacy boards, which ensure the safety of prescription medicines at the state level, have been sending letters to Congress to expressing significant safety concerns about legislation that would legalize drug  importation. According to regulators,

• they cannot ensure the origin, safety or efficacy of drugs sold by foreign online pharmacies
• lists of safe, certified online pharmacies have not been effective in guiding patients to safe consumer behavior
• importation will encourage even more fake Canadian pharmacy websites and exacerbate prescription drug abuse outside the reach of state-based prescription drug monitoring programs
• illegal online pharmacies operate beyond the reach of American law and law enforcement
• drug importation threatens the implementation of the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA), which enables authorities to trace prescription pharmaceuticals and prevent counterfeit and unapproved medicine from reaching U.S. patients.

Letters from State Boards of Pharmacy: