Guinn hesitant on Canada Rx bill

Wednesday, March 16, 2005 | 9:41 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Gov. Kenny Guinn said Tuesday he won't sign any bill to permit importation of cheaper drugs from Canada unless he is convinced that the importation won't violate federal law and that it won't leave the state liable if drugs from Canada harm a Nevada citizen.

The Assembly Committee on Commerce and Labor was to hear testimony today on Assembly Bill 195, which would allow a Canadian pharmacy to sell the drugs to Nevadans.

The current state law prohibits a pharmacy from distributing drugs unless licensed by the state Board of Pharmacy. The law prohibits a person from filling a prescription drug via the Internet if the drug has not been lawfully imported into the United States.

The new bill authorizes Canadian pharmacies that are licensed by the state to provide prescription drugs by mail order to Nevadans if the pharmacies are included on the Web site of the state Office for Consumer Health Assistance.

It requires the office to provide links to those pharmacies that are approved by the pharmacy board. AB195 prohibits a pharmacy outside Nevada from distributing a prescription or generic drug that has not been approved by the Federal Food and Drug Administration.

The bill also limits Nevadans to purchases of up to a three months' supply of drugs at one time. A loophole in federal law allows U.S. residents to purchase up to a three-month supply of legally prescribed drugs from a foreign country, Assembly Majority Leader Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas, said.

Buckley also said the assurance Guinn seeks is in the bill.

The Canadian pharmacy would be licensed by the state, the same as a Nevada business. A consumer who received a tainted drug could sue the Canadian company, and the state Board of Pharmacy could revoke the license of the Canadian company.

She said Nevada should be able to join six other states that allow the importation of drugs. As an example of the cost savings, she said cholesterol-lowering Lipitor costs $64-$74 for a month's supply in United States compared with $35 in Canada.