EAST PROVIDENCE -- Several Rhode Island municipalities are considering
buying prescription medicines from Canada, and East Providence's mayor
is promising there will be Canadian drug sales in his city, in the wake
of a new law allowing state licensing of Canadian pharmacies.
At an event today to celebrate the passage of the law, which would not
go into effect before January, East Providence Mayor Rolland Grant said
the city would have a storefront for a Canadian pharmacy. Drugs from
Canada can be as much as 60 percent cheaper than those bought in the
United States.
Grant did not give details, and a message left at his office by The
Associated Press was not immediately returned.
A representative from a Massachusetts firm that's in partnership with a
Canadian mail order pharmacy company also attended today's event. He
said he is in talks with several Rhode Island cities and towns about
buying prescription medicine from Canada.
Kevin Walsh, vice president of Prescription Benefits Services, also said
Canadian pharmacy Caneusa Health, his company's partner, is exploring
applying for a license in Rhode Island. The soonest that can happen is
January, according to the new law.
But the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has warned that Rhode Island's
new law is superseded by a federal statute barring the importation of
prescription drugs.
And state Attorney General Patrick Lynch today also warned that the new
state law might violate federal law, and agreed with the FDA's
interpretation.
"The costs of prescription drugs are a burden to many Rhode Islanders,
and the need to obtain affordable prescription drugs is essential.
Unfortunately, enabling an entity to violate federal laws and
regulations is not good law enforcement policy," Lynch said in a
statement.
But Walsh said he believes the federal government is close to changing
its policies and predicted there would be a shift before the November
elections.
The thought of having an East Providence outlet to purchase drugs from
Canada excited 83-year-old Mary McGuire, who said she takes some five
medications a day after struggling through three bouts of cancer. She
said paying for the drugs eats up much of her pension.
"I think it's wonderful," said the East Providence resident. "I'd be
right at the front door. I'd be the first one there."
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