Nevada on the Move of Importing Prescription Drugs

Assembly Majority Leader Barbara Buckley heads on the plan to import prescription medicines from Canada. Backed by other officials, cause-oriented groups, unions, doctor’s associations, and senior citizens, she together with other lawmakers, are now pushing to finalize the regulations to enable Nevadans to purchase drugs from Canadian drugstores which are lower-priced and more economical. The legislation is eyeing to implement the law by April 20 of this year. In line with this, Attorney General George Chanos has taken a stand to further modify the current rulings with regards the issue at hand. He said that possible federal Food and Drug Administration directives may be violated, resulting to legal consequences. Buckley, also the chief sponsor of the program, is headstrong to obtain the approval. She vows to work in achieving authorization as she claims to consider of her constituents who purposely go to Canada just to buy their daily medicinal needs. The final elements of the legislation are now being scrutinized by the board to meet the set deadline. These sections being worked on are the accreditation procedures of the Canadian pharmacies allowed to market medicines within the state. It is also required that these pharmacies have toll-free phone lines,   e-mail access, and the ability to get in touch with their customer’s doctor in cases the latter can’t present a valid prescription. The board is also looking at the guidelines as to when, where, and why the pharmacy can decline a purchase. The law also states that generic Canadian drugs can not be sold except when sold also in the same generic form in their country. The rules ensuring the safety of the drugs are being prioritized as well. The Canadian drugs cannot enter the state unless approved by the US Food and Drug Administration and Health Canada. It is assumed the people of Nevada will not only be benefited from the cheaper drugs that will soon be available to them. The regulation also aims to control unauthorized websites that are selling drugs to the US; drugs that are not tested safe and effective by the proper US health departments. The law also seeks to castigate agencies, companies, and individuals who are pursuing illegal prescription drugs importations within the constituency. It is not a secret that a lot of US citizens are actually flying to Canada or are getting their medicine from Canadian sources. Buckley aims to regulate these transactions, make it legal if it is, while still protecting the interests and rights of the people, particularly the Nevadans. Activists against the law on the other hand, would like to postpone the ratification until after every single detail is straightened out. They are pushing for lawmakers to launch a special session with regards this particular law. Those who on the pro-implementation side believe changes can be done in the regular legislative session next year. Currently, the vote stands 4 to 3 favoring the execution of the new law. http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/nevada/2006/mar/01/030110077.html http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/N/NV_CANADIAN_DRUGS_NVOL-?SITE=NVCAP&SECTION=STATE&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2006-04-20-20-06-12