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Politics : Dutch Central Bank Sale Announcement Imminent? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: sea_urchin who wrote (19536)	11/7/2003 11:42:21 AM
From: philv	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 81177

Canadian drugs is off topic. Searle, you may be interested. There is a huge controversy boiling right now about many Americans purchasing their drugs from Canada. Many retired folks cross the line and come to Canada to make big purchases. They can save easily 50% due to lower costs in Canada and the premium on the US dollar. Canada has legislation enabling generic drugs as substitutes for the real thing. I don't know the time frame (years) that a drug manufacturer is protected, but once it has expired, the generic labs can produce and substitute these drugs. Apparently this is not the case in the US. Also, to compete, US manufacturers have one price for the rich Americans and a lower export price for their poor cousins up in freezing Canada. The drug stores are making a fortune these days, and some may ship via the internet to the States. The drug lobby is trying very hard to shut down this trade, citing health concerns, lack of control, improper shipping, storage etc. In the meantime, it is estimated more than 2 million Americans shop in Canada, and some States, trying hard to keep their medicare budget in line, actually support buying in Canada. I have heard of instances where drugs for Canadians are unavailable, and costs going up due to this trans border traffic. This subject for those who use drugs (most older people) is huge. I get a chuckle out of the lobbyists, insisting that there are no quality controls and that the buyer has no guarantee of the integrity of the drugs from "foreign" countries. They like to mention Mexico in the same sentence. I don't know about internet purchases. In Canada, we can't buy any drugs without a doctor's prescription except for those mild over the counter types.