Assembly approves Canadian drug legislation

Kirsten Searer

Friday, April 22, 2005 | 11:02 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- The Assembly voted for a bill Thursday to help Nevadans order discounted prescription drugs from Canadian pharmacies.

Now it's time to see if the idea has legs.

Assembly Majority Leader Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas, shepherded Assembly Bill 195 through her Committee on Commerce and Labor and the Assembly.

Her bill is simple, she says: State regulators would visit pharmacies in Canada, and then set up a Web site so Nevadans can order their drugs online from accredited pharmacies.

The savings, she said, could be up to 50 percent.

But the bill could face a bigger test in the Senate and, ultimately, before Gov. Kenny Guinn, who has expressed concerns that importing drugs from Canada would violate federal law.

Buckley plans to meet with representatives of the attorney general and governor's offices today to talk about her plan, and how the nine other states with similar programs worked it out legally.

Guinn spokesman Greg Bortolin said Guinn's concerns have not yet been addressed.

"It's illegal to get drugs from Canada," Bortolin said. "... I guess we're optimistic that they can show us how we can do this and not break the law."

Several Assembly Republicans put up a fight against the bill Thursday. But instead of arguing that the bill could violate federal law, they argued that Canada sets drug prices at artificially low levels.

If all countries did that, argued Assembly Assistant Republican Leader Garn Mabey, there would be no money for companies to research and develop new medications.

Mabey, a doctor, pointed to a study by a Columbia University economist that found for every dollar spent on new drugs, another $7 is saved in total health care costs.

But Assemblyman Marcus Conklin, D-Las Vegas, said that's the problem.

"The citizens of the United States are subsidizing the cost of pharmaceuticals for other countries that have price controls," he said.

Republican Assemblyman Joe Hardy, a doctor from Boulder City, pointed to a recent Time magazine article talking about people who bought drugs online from sites that claimed to be Canadian but turned out to be from other countries.

That is, however, one of the reasons Buckley said she was pushing the bill. Too many people are turning to illegal Web sites for cheaper drugs and are getting ripped off, or, potentially, getting the wrong medicine.

"These safety concerns do not exist when a person purchases medication from a licensed Canadian pharmacy," she said.

In the end, the bill passed 29-12, with four Assembly Republicans breaking rank to vote for the bill.

Most said their constituents were demanding lower drug costs. Assemblywoman Francis Allen, R-Las Vegas, said her 88-year-old grandmother even lobbied her on the bill.

Buckley argues that the bill wouldn't be illegal because people would be acting on their own behalf, utilizing a loophole in federal law.

"This is not designed to be a long-term fix for prescription drug prices," Buckley said. "The bill simply offers a reasonable, viable option for Nevadans who choose to buy more affordable drugs from Canada."

For example, Lipitor, which treats cholesterol levels and is the number one selling drug to seniors, sells for $64.67 under the Medicare drug card, Buckley said. In Canada, the price is $35.04.

And Prevacid, another popular drug for heartburn and ulcer treatments, sells for $110.30 under the Medicare drug card but is $43.79 in Canada, she said.

The bill likely will go to the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee, where chairman Sen. Randolph Townsend, R-Reno, said he has lined up a top Canadian health official to testify on the importation of Canadian drugs.

Townsend said he hasn't made up his mind yet on the bill. While he said he wants to look for ways to lower drug costs, he also said he would have reservations about anything that would break the law.

"Obviously when we're sworn in, we're sworn in to uphold the Nevada constitution as well as the law of the United States," Townsend said.

Assembly members have had recent weeks to learn about the bill, Townsend said.

"Now it's up to the Senate to do their homework," he said.