Lawmakers OK program to buy foreign medicines

[flashl]

Source: Star Bulletin

Hawaii residents will be able to buy inexpensive foreign prescription drugs over the Internet under a new state law approved over objections from Gov. Linda Lingle.

The law enrolls Hawaii in a program called I-SaveRx, which will ship un-approved drugs from overseas to island mailboxes against federal rules.

It would be available to everyone but would be most beneficial for residents with inadequate prescription coverage in their health insurance.

Majority Democratic lawmakers overrode the Republican governor's veto of the measure last week to force the state into the program. Opponents said they were concerned about the safety and legality of importing foreign drugs.

Star Bulletin

Read more: http://starbulletin.com/2008/05/09/news/story11.html

[Robbien]

1. Doesn't the Federal Postal Service

block most of these packages? Having it be legal in a state won't stop that.

[Vincardog]

2. Are the feds doing anything about the poison medicines we get from China?

[kimmerspixelated]

3. How about we at least try to grow some of our own medicines

in our privately owned back yards, like Oregano,Tumeric, Garlic, tomatoes, Broccoli, etc., especially with the high cost of everything soaring even more!

[KSinTX]

4. I think I'd be a little concerned depending on the country

I was getting it from.

[rasputin1952]

5. I don't think most people realize where many of their OTC and RX

meds come from now...many of them are imported, then packaged here in the US.

Read the labels on OTC, aspirin, acetaminophen, vitamins, supplements and a whole slew of powders, ointments and sleep meds are NOT made in this country...they com in containers from Mexico, China, South America and other places where they are cheaply made. They are packages here, so the label can read something about "USA", if you read your aspirin was made in China, it would sit on the shelf for 50 years.

Prescription meds are the same way...I got some NSAID, (voltaren), and they put the Rx label on the original bottle because I was getting the last 30 that were in it, why waste the yellow bottle...There, at the bottom of the original label was: "Product made in Canada; Packaged in USA".
So we are importing meds from Canada anyway, but still selling them at US prices. The whole thing is a horrid scam...in reality, you have no idea where your meds were produced, and under what conditions. Big Pharma has been doing this for years, they just don't want you to know about it.

[KSinTX]

6. That I did not know

I've always thought meds from Canada were from the US and shipped up there and sold for less. I'm going to have to start looking more carefully (guess I'll need to start taking my reading glasses to the market :))

[rasputin1952]

7. You'll be surprised, as I was...

it is far more devious than I ever thought.

BTW...the cries from Big-Pharma about spending so much on R&D...the Feds pick up a huge amount of that tab, and advertising/merchandizing make up the largest part of every pharmaceutical co's budget.

[gulfcoastliberal]

8. True dems in the Hawaii statehouse! K&R!