Change in Canadian law could scuttle prescription drug plan

Friday, June 24, 2005 | 11:08 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Democrats in the Legislature fought hard for passage of a bill to allow Nevadans to buy lower-cost drugs online from Canadian pharmacies.

But the victory may be short-lived.

Canadian officials are reportedly considering restrictions on sell their drugs online to consumers in the United States.

Keith Macdonald, executive director of the state Pharmacy Board, said news of the possible change north of the border has his board "trying to figure it out." He said the board already had a trip scheduled for July 11 to negotiate prices and distribution arrangements with some of the pharmacies.

The bill in the Legislature allowed the state Pharmacy Board to license pharmacies in Canada from which Nevadans could purchase a supply of up to three months via the Internet.

McDonald said he does not know whether the suggestion to limit shipments to U.S. consumers must go to the Canadian Parliament. If it does, it could take two years before Canadian law is changed.

Macdonald said, "We are still interested in making this (the Nevada law) work."

Sen. Bob Coffin, D-Las Vegas, said he was very disappointed to hear that Canada was considering changing its law. Coffin said it would force some consumers to buy prescription drugs illegally and that could put their health at risk.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Raggio, R-Reno, said Nevada lawmakers knew that there was a possibility that Canada would change its rules. "They (Canada) has been considering that for quite a while," he said.

Still, Sen. Randolph Townsend, R-Reno, one of the few Republican senators to vote for the bill, said he was "a little surprised" by the announcement because "we didn't think it would come this soon."

Assembly Majority Leader Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas, likewise said that the pharmacy industry has been putting pressure on Canada to stop the importation of these drugs to U.S. consumers.

Buckley, a major supporter of the Canadian drug bill, said she may join the state Pharmacy Board when it goes to Canada in July.

If Canada stops importation, Buckley said Nevada may look to other counties such as Ireland to import the cheaper drugs.

Coffin said those residents who live in border states to Canada may be able to purchase the drugs but people in Nevada may be out of luck.

Coffin said he figures the big drug companies that wield so much power in Washington, D.C., have now been able to expand that influence into Canada. An Associated Press story out of Toronto Thursday said a government health spokesman said there has been a study for six months on ways to restrict sales to U.S. consumers.

Spokesman Ken Polk was quoted as saying that doctors in Canada may be prevented from co-signing prescriptions without examining patients. Or the country might prevent a price reduction if the drugs are exported.

The Nevada law, to become effective next Friday, said once the state Pharmacy Board licenses a Canadian pharmacy, it must give the name to the state Office of Consumer Health Assistance that would put it on a list on the Internet.

The law said the Canadian pharmacies could not sell a drug to Nevadans that had not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration and could not sell more than a three-months supply.