3. Americans put their safety at risk anytime they purchase lifesaving medications from Canadian mail order pharmacies. Their prescriptions are not scrutinized and dispensed by licensed Canadian pharmacists from licensed Canadian pharmacies.

• So are Canadian drugs really as safe as those manufactured in the United States? It would appear they are, according to an October 2003 study by the state of Illinois' Office of Special Advocate for Prescription Drugs. (September 18, 2005 - Ashbury Park Press)


• Springfield imported about $4.5 million in drugs in the 12 months ending in March, saving about $1.9 million, said Chris Collins, who helps oversee the program. (June 29, 2005 - Bloomberg)


• Licensed Canadian pharmacies may prove to be a vital lifeline for U.S. seniors that face inadequate coverage under the new Medicare prescription drug program starting in 2006. (September 13, 2005 - Lansing State Journal)


• About 30 senators are cosponsoring a bill that would allow pharmacies, drug wholesalers and individuals to re–import FDA–approved medicines from Canada and other industrialized countries. (Arkansas News Bureau – August 6, 2004)
• Canadian standards are no less than our own and clearly don't deserve to be lumped into the same category as Chinese pirated versions of movies and software.  (Lebanon Daily News - August 16, 2004)


• The FDA, in congressional hearings, has not been able to show a single case where a Canadian drug has damaged a U.S. citizen. (NBC Columbus August 11, 2004)


• No American has suffered any documented health problems as a result of taking Canadian drugs. (WORK 13 Rochester, NY August 8, 2004)


• In Canada, outlets in Manitoba and other provinces are supplying an estimated 10 million Americans. (Winnipeg Free Press October 2, 2003)


• In a recent study by the General Accounting Office, the agency obtained 68 samples of 11 different drugs, each from a different Web site in the United States, Canada or another foreign country. Five US and all 18 Canadian pharmacy sites required a patient-provided prescription, while the remaining 24 US and all 21 foreign pharmacy sites outside of Canada provided a prescription based on their own medical questionnaire or had no prescription requirement. (The Daily Nonpareil August 8, 2004)


• The FDA contends it is looking out for consumer safety by opposing drug imports, but in fact a growing volume of prescription drugs sold in the U.S. are made overseas and brought in by domestic manufacturers. (Time)


• The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America also has long claimed that imported drugs are unsafe, even though many U.S. made drugs are manufactured overseas. (Kiplinger.com August 11, 2004)


• Although the Food and Drug Administration has mostly ignored U.S. citizens who illegally cross the border with personal supplies of Canadian medications, it has sided with drug makers on the safety issue. (Kiplinger.com August 8, 2004)


• GAO investigators found that prescription drugs purchased on Canadian Web sites posed less risk than prescriptions bought online from pharmacies in other countries. In some instances, they added, Canadian pharmacies have higher standards than those in the United States. (The Charleston Gazette August 10, 2004)

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