Canada isn't big enough to supply America with medicine, and they already have shortages. They've said no to us already.

• It won't work because Canada (37mm) is one ninth the population of the United States (327mm), makes little of their own medication, and already faces drug shortage problems that endanger their patients.
• It won't work because Canada's federal government has said no several times to this idea, including at the White House where the Acting Ambassador personally expressed their opposition to this policy.
• It won't work because these regulations require that Americans transact with Canadian licensed wholesalers, and Canadian wholesalers have said they don't want to participate because it will endanger the Canadian drug supply for Canadians.

Learn more by watching this video.

State boards of pharmacy, state attorneys general, and sometimes even the Federal Government cannot effectively regulate Canadian sellers. They've tried already.

States, including Maine, Minnesota, and Illinois have all tried to regulate Canadian vendors who were endangering Americans and it hasn't worked. They can't bring them into court because they don't have extradition, and they have no ability to compel them to adopt safer business practices because U.S. states aren't their regulator. At the Federal level, we often have to fight for extradition (a fight we don't always win) to bring foreign counterfeit criminals to the U.S. to stand trial.  Learn more by watching this video.

It breaks Track and Trace, and Track and Trace doesn't work on Canadian medicine.

It won't work because it will completely break Track and Trace, the system that allows traceability of medicine from the manufacturing floor to the pharmacy supply shelf. Instead it proposes slapping a bar code on medicine after it's left the manufacturer. Canada has no track and trace system for us to even integrate with. Watch video to learn more.

Other ideas for things to say:

• This idea won't work because it contains no liability protections for healthcare professionals like pharmacists, who dispense these medications and are subject to civil litigation if there is a medical adverse event because they dispensed an unsafe medication.
• When it becomes obvious that real Canadian drugs aren't available, a black market will be created. We've seen dangerous vendors like convicted Canadian vendor RxNorth sell counterfeit medication to Americans. They even had a Canadian pharmacists license!
• This proposal will create a black market because real Canadian medication isn't available. Convicted Canadian criminals like Canada Drugs, who sold fake cancer medication to Americans and had a Canadian wholesale license, will be the kind of vendors that participate.
• This regulation is flawed and should be withdrawn. A better way to bring down drug pricing is to add more resources to the FDA to enable them to review generics and biosimilars (generic biologic drugs) faster. FDA research shows that when you introduce two or more generics into the market, prices drop significantly.
• This regulation is flawed and should be withdrawn. A better way to bring down drug pricing is to use transparency laws to see how much shadowy middlemen like pharmacy benefit managers secretly mark up the cost of medicine, and regulate them.
• This regulation is flawed and should be withdrawn. A better way to bring down drug pricing is to prohibit spread pricing that allows a middleman like a pharmacy benefit manager to charge a consumer 500% or more than what they remiburse the pharmacist for it.

• Provide more resources to the FDA so that it can more quickly review new generic medicines and biosimilars. Data compiled and published by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration show that greater competition among generic drug makers is associated with lower drug prices.  
• Regulate middlemen with predatory pricing practices such as pharmacy benefit managers. Over and over again, in state after state, we’ve seen policy analysts dig down to find out what’s driving prices for consumers after medicine leaves the factory floor and the answer is often found in middlemen such as pharmacy benefit managers who claim they are using their buying power to achieve economies of scale. In reality, pricing transparency reveals that they are making enormous profits marking up medicine as its sale passes between manufacturers, wholesalers, dispensing pharmacists, and patients. (See the New York State Senate report, West Virginia's outside actuarial study, and the Ohio Auditor General’s report)
• Foster new pricing models. New and novel methods of paying for healthcare are gaining ground and when implemented, showing significant savings without sacrificing safety. These flat-fee agreements are in place in Australia, and in several U.S. states  and they are showing promise. (See projects in Washington state, Louisiana state, and Australia.)