Dear Bernie Sanders: Canada is not the United States’ drugstore

[james_1957]

Does Bernie really want to expose the American people to uncertified, uninspected, third-party drugs?

Canada has long been a stalwart friend and neighbor to the United States. But there’s one thing Canada must not become: America’s pharmacy.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has proposed a bill to let Americans import prescription medicines from Canada. He hopes to this will give Americans access to lower Canadian prices. It’s not just Democrats who like the idea; several prominent Republicans voted in favor of similar legislation that was defeated in January.

As someone who spent several years as Canada’s health minister, I know that allowing Americans to purchase prescription drugs from Canada could have terrible consequences for the citizens of both countries.

Under Sanders’s plan, Canada would simply serve as an intermediate transshipment point for unapproved drugs heading to the United States. Canadian authorities do not inspect every shipment of products headed for the U.S. marketplace to ensure that packages don’t contain adulterated, counterfeit or illegal drugs. Canada does not have the resources to undertake such comprehensive searches, and the Canadian and U.S. governments are not currently set up to facilitate such a program. Canada’s health-inspection regime is designed to ensure the safety of medications for Canadians, not for other countries.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...t-americas-drug-store/?utm_term=.d5a0127ee839

 

[Miles]

That's right, that's not freedom. Freedom is being told you must pay huge mark ups for American drugs and you cannot buy them anywhere else.

 

[OldJourno]

That's right, that's not freedom. Freedom is being told you must pay huge mark ups for American drugs and you cannot buy them anywhere else.

On which drugs do you pay huge markups?
I take three drugs daily. I found private pay saved me $40+ rather than forking over the $50 each Obamacare co-pay.

 

[Miles]

On which drugs do you pay huge markups?
I take three drugs daily. I found private pay saved me $40+ rather than forking over the $50 each Obamacare co-pay.

I pay $180 an ounce, just picked one up. How much are those pills in canadaland?

 

[Jennifer]

I pay $180 an ounce, just picked one up. How much are those pills in canadaland?

That's a great price

 

[james_1957]

That's a great price

How much do drugs cost in South Carolina, Adre?

 

[KingOrfeo]

Look, if you order drugs from a known reliable supplier in Canada, you'll get what you ordered.

 

[Jennifer]

How much do drugs cost in South Carolina, Adre?

Not sure. I've never been. Hear the beaches are nice.

 

[pointless]

Not sure. I've never been. Hear the beaches are nice.

the whole state is quite nice. sadly, it's full of idiots. very polite idiots, but idiots nonetheless.

 

[james_1957]

I pay $180 an ounce, just picked one up. How much are those pills in canadaland?

What's with all the alts, Rob?

 

[OldJourno]

I pay $180 an ounce, just picked one up. How much are those pills in canadaland?

Have no interest in finding out, and no idea how to find out.
And what strain are you getting for $180 an ounce?

 

[Jennifer]

the whole state is quite nice. sadly, it's full of idiots. very polite idiots, but idiots nonetheless.

I'm not surprised. I definitely want to visit Charleston.

 

[Porkwarrior]

This article makes me LOL.

Yeah, Canada is no better than Mexico. Ohhhhhhh skeery non-FDA drugs!
One of the few things Canada does right, is control script drug pricing and putting relatively short limits on drug patents before generics can be marketed.

I've got extended family in Kommiefornia, we ship all their heart & cancer drugs to them. I can't remember offhand, but a Canadian APO generic was running 1/4 the cost.

 

[KingOrfeo]

Again, if you order drugs from a known reliable supplier in Canada, you'll get what you ordered -- not a counterfeit, not a placebo, not something adulterated, not something illegal, and not something untested by the government. What is anyone worried about here?

 

[Miles]

Have no interest in finding out, and no idea how to find out.
And what strain are you getting for $180 an ounce?

Its some sour diesel, it's good stuff. I know a guy who grows for some dispensaries.

 

[Liar]

Why limited to Canada?

 

[KingOrfeo]

Why limited to Canada?

That's the country next door with the cheap drugs.

 

[RobDownSouth]

Again, if you order drugs from a known reliable supplier in Canada, you'll get what you ordered -- not a counterfeit, not a placebo, not something illegal, and not something untested by the government. What is anyone worried about here?

Absolutely agree. I have arthritis. Celebrex is wonderful for arthritis, I've taken one pill a day for years. Before the Celebrex patent expired and the generic was available (a few years ago), the drug was not covered in the Blue Cross formulary. The US cost was $200 per month out of pocket. The Canadian pharmacy cost was $200 for a SIX MONTH supply.

Fuck the scaremongers.

 

[Liar]

That's the country next door with the cheap drugs.

Next door means nothing in the 21st century. We have global parcel services these days. Airplanes and stuff. They go, like, really fast.

 

[KingOrfeo]

Canadian authorities do not inspect every shipment of products headed for the U.S. marketplace to ensure that packages don’t contain adulterated, counterfeit or illegal drugs.

So what? Whatever you order will get to you; who cares what else might be in the shipment?

 

[KingOrfeo]

Next door means nothing in the 21st century. We have global parcel services these days. Airplanes and stuff. They go, like, really fast.

But it's still cheaper to get something shipped from Canada than from overseas.

 

[Liar]

But it's still cheaper to get something shipped from Canada than from overseas.

Arguably. But it still seems odd to make that arbitrary limitation a proposed policy. If a, say, Finnish supplier can compete with a Canadian on the US market, in spite of higher logistics costs, let'em both, or let niether.

 

[KingOrfeo]

Arguably. But it still seems odd to make that arbitrary limitation a proposed policy. If a, say, Finnish supplier can compete with a Canadian on the US market, in spite of higher logistics costs, let'em both, or let niether.

I have no objection. But the former health minister quoted in the OP would probably point out the danger of illegal drugs making their way into shipments from countries that produce them -- so what? Illegal drugs will always find their way into this country so long as there is a demand.

 

[OldJourno]

Its some sour diesel, it's good stuff. I know a guy who grows for some dispensaries.

Dispensary prices in AZ are ridiculously high. I feel like I get fairer prices for private pay at the pharmacy.

 

[ishtat]

The cheapest and most reliable place to get prescription drugs from is New Zealand, despite it being a long way away. Their health service is essentially socialized and the drugs are as cheap as you can get. The drugs cannot get into NZ without being government approved, so you know it is good stuff coming out. Many drugs made in USA are cheaper if bought from NZ rather than supplied within the USA

Crazy, Yup.

'Course it's socialism , so must be evil.