Buying prescriptions from Canada

adrienurse, LPN · Jul 24, 2003

Is it ethical? Maybe not.

Is it legal? Yes.

Is it helping poor people access lifesaving drugs? Yes.

Is it hurting anybody other than the rich multinationals? Not really. Pharmacists in Canada must still answer to those who regulate their profession.

Do I blame the business owners who are taking advantage of the weak Canadian dollar? Not really.

If the American Government wants to put a stop to is, then it should do that. Never mind legal battles so that the fat cats can get fatter.

Just IMHO

Shamrock, BSN, RN · Jul 24, 2003

I just started getting my mother's medicine's from Canada.com

She will be saving $165.00/month. Do I think it is unethical? Absolutely not. What I think is unethical is that she must go to

another country to save. The Canadian pharmacist and pharmaceutical companies have rules/regulations that are much

like the USA's. Is it legal? Yes, for now anyway, at least until the

US pharmaceutical companies lobbyist are able to sway our congress/sentate to make it illegal.

Dealing with Canada.com has been one of the easiest things I've done for a while and we will continue to get her meds. there as long as possible. I'm probably going to order some over the counter products too, many of them are much cheaper. With all the money she is saving, maybe now she can buy the shoes that

she likes but did not feel she could. Or whatever else she needs/wants! (Hmmmm, not to mention my inheritence-:chuckle)

fergus51 · Jul 24, 2003

We need the boost to our crappy economy anyways:). There have always been people coming here to get drugs, and Canadians going to the US to avoid waitlists for simple procedures.

VickyRN, MSN, DNP, RN · Jul 25, 2003

I have bought from Canada.com and would highly recommend them. The service was great, product was excellent. I was amazed, however, how easy it is to buy prescription items (nonnarcotic) via the internet.

laura867 · May 12, 2004

I am a nurse who helps seniors get their drugs from Canada for a commission. When I have recruited other nurses to do this they have wondered if it is appropriate to put RN on their business cards. What do you think?

Home Health Columnist / Guide · May 12, 2004

i am a nurse who helps seniors get their drugs from canada for a commission. when i have recruited other nurses to do this they have wondered if it is appropriate to put rn on their business cards. what do you think?

from the above article:

the government prohibits the re-importation of medicines made in the united states and sold abroad by anyone other than the manufacturer, wrote david j. horowitz, director of the agency's office of compliance. foreign versions of u.s.-approved drugs are generally considered not approved for use here by the fda, he added.

since it is illegal to import drugs from canada into the us at this time, surefire way to loose your nursing license if convicted of a crime.

government is going after small fish now. since you are charging a commission, you are bait.

laura867 · May 12, 2004

The medication that I get from Canada is NOT reimported. THe majority of manufactured medication is made outside the US. I am a referral service only. I check the certification of the pharmacy in Canada before I do business with them. How does that effect my nursing license?

nightingale, RN · May 12, 2004

from the above article:
the government prohibits the re-importation of medicines made in the united states and sold abroad by anyone other than the manufacturer, wrote david j. horowitz, director of the agency's office of compliance. foreign versions of u.s.-approved drugs are generally considered not approved for use here by the fda, he added.
since it is illegal to import drugs from canada into the us at this time, surefire way to loose your nursing license if convicted of a crime.
government is going after small fish now. since you are charging a commission, you are bait.

:nono: importing from canada as a nurse? :nono:

excellent point karen, thank you! you could have just saved someones license! :imbar

night

Home Health Columnist / Guide · May 12, 2004

Many of Canadian drugs are from US. Canada back to US = reimportation.

As middle person you are directly linked in a paid relationship to pharmacy.

Only takes ONE prescription that source is US manufacturer.

GOOD BYE NURSING LICENSE.

Kyriaka · May 12, 2004

My understanding is that it is illegal but it depends on each state to enforce.

Even AARP gives a list of Canadian pharmacies. You always run the risk of having the DEA show up on your doorstep.

Since I run a Lyme support group, I know of many patients who import (but most of them go to Mexico and bring antibiotics back).

For those who cannot find a Dr. to treat them for chronic Lyme I also know of patients who take their dog's medication (Doxy, Flagyl, ect.)

Pediatric Critical Care Columnist · May 25, 2004

many of canadian drugs are from us. canada back to us = reimportation. nrskarenrn

i'll beg to differ with that statement. many drugs are developed in the u.s. but are then manufactured in canada and vice versa. most multinational pharmaceutical manufacturers have labs in canada, including glaxo-smithkline, burroughs-wellcome, merck-frosst, astrazeneca, mcneil, schering, amgen, eli lilly and pfizer to name but a few. in fact, canada has two of the world's largest generic pharmaceutical manufacturers in the world, apotex and novopharm, manufacturing generic versions of a good many drugs. so i would say that what is being reimported is the intellectual property, not the drugs themselves, kind of fuzzy at the edges and difficult to enforce. of course, if it can be proven that a drug was manufactured in the u.s., imported into canada then sold to a u.s. citizen who then imported it back into the u.s. that would be different.