State moving ahead on Canadian drugs

Sunday, Feb. 26, 2006 | 8:22 a.m.

CARSON CITY - The controversial law to permit Nevadans to buy low-cost Canadian prescription drugs takes a small step forward on Wednesday.

The state Board of Pharmacy has scheduled a workshop in Reno to take a look at the first set of regulations that sets the guidelines on what drugs will and will not be available for a mail order purchase.

Dr. Joe Heck, a state senator from Las Vegas, said he hasn't seen a copy of the proposed regulations, but he's "happy they are moving forward." He added, "The big thing is to get it done and get it in operation."

"We've got to start somewhere," Assemblywoman Sheila Leslie, D-Reno, said. "I want to see something in place,"

The law was approved in June, but there has been a fight over whether the drugs could be imported.

Larry Pinson, executive director of the Pharmacy Board, called it a "starting point."

If the board decides to go forward with the plan, a formal public hearing will be held April 20 in Las Vegas, at which the regulations could be adopted.

One section of the regulation deals with drugs that are still protected by a patent in the United States, Pinson said. The proposed rule would prohibit the importing of a similar Canadian generic drug.

Leslie said the issue of "off-patent" drugs may have to be addressed in the future, "because that's where the greatest savings are."

"If it affects drugs that people need the most, we will have to take a look at it," Leslie said.

The proposed regulations would prohibit shipments of controlled substances and would bar drugs being shipped from off-shore affiliates and not from Canada. Drugs that would be permitted would have to appear on both the lists of Health Canada, the agency that oversees Canadian drugs, and the Food and Drug Administration.

Nevada Attorney General George Chanos said the law permits only FDA approved prescription drugs to be imported. That means the state can't license Canadian pharmacies to sell to Nevadans because they only sell pharmaceuticals that are approved in Canada.

But Assembly Majority Leader Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas, and other supporters said the Chanos interpretation of the law was too strained.

After a debate in December, the Pharmacy Board decided to draft regulations to permit Canadian pharmacies to apply to be licensed in Nevada to ship drugs to Nevadans.

If the Pharmacy Board approves the regulations in April, they would still have to be cleared by a legislative committee, Pinson said. He said the program probably would not start until June.

Leslie said the Pharmacy Board is "being conservative and protecting the public and that's fine." But she said the pharmaceutical companies "have to act more responsibly."

The movement on Nevada's Canadian drug importation plan comes as the federal government steps up its enforcement in Minnesota against the prescriptions drugs from across the border.

Pinson said the government is "cracking down on mail-order shipments," with the U.S. Customs officials starting to block the mail-order business.

"I don't know why," he said.

Cy Ryan can be reached at (775) 687-5032 or at cy@lasvegassun.com.