New Hampshire Governor Says Purchasing Medications From Online Canadian Pharmacy Is Safe

An investigation into a Canadian online pharmacy conducted by two New Hampshire pharmacists has found that the pharmacy is a "safe alternative" for state residents who seek to reimport lower-cost, U.S.-manufactured prescription drugs, New Hampshire Gov. Craig Benson (R) said on Monday, the AP/Boston Globe reports. In February, Benson and state Department of Health and Human Services Commissioner John Stephen sent two volunteer pharmacists to examine Winnipeg-based CanadaDrugs.com, the first pharmacy accredited by the Internet and Mail-Order Pharmacy Accreditation Commission. A report drafted by the pharmacists said that CanadaDrugs.com charges as much as 50% less for prescription drugs than New Hampshire pharmacies. In addition, the report said that several of the staff pharmacists at CanadaDrugs.com, as well as the owner, are licensed in the United States and that the pharmacy requires U.S. customers to provide a prescription from a U.S. physician and a medical profile. "Canada is not a third-world country, as some in the drug industry would have us believe," Benson said (Webster, AP/Boston Globe, 3/30). Benson has sought approval from HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson to establish a state reimportation program for Medicaid beneficiaries and prison inmates. Under the program, New Hampshire would reimport from Canada prescription drugs manufactured in the United States and shipped in their original packages. The program also would require both a U.S. and a Canadian physician to approve prescriptions. The governor also has proposed that New Hampshire join a purchasing pool with Michigan and Vermont to negotiate lower prescription drug prices for state programs. In addition, Benson has announced plans to establish a Web site that will provide state residents with access to Canadian pharmacies (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 3/25). However, Benson said on Monday that such a Web site may raise legal issues for the state, adding that "he was still working on that issue," the AP/Globe reports (AP/Boston Globe, 3/30).