Canadian On line Pharmacy for meds

Do you know the difference between a brick-and-mortar Canadian retail pharmacy and a so-called “Canadian online pharmacy”? A Web site claiming to be a Canadian pharmacy and offering to send drugs to you in the US is probably just a shipping company and may not even really be in Canada, explains the Partnership for Safe Medicines (PSM). PSM answers additional questions about online entities claiming to be Canadian pharmacies on the “Questions and Answers on Medicine Importation” page of its Web site. PSM stresses that such sites often distribute dangerous counterfeit medications. Information about the safest way to purchase medication online using a Verified Internet Pharmacy Practice SitesCM (VIPPS®)-accredited pharmacy is available on the Recommended VIPPS Online Pharmacies page of the AWARxE Web site.

http://www.safemedicines.org/2013/03/questions-and-answers-on-medicine-importation.html

http://www.awarerx.org/get-informed/safe-acquisition/recommended-vipps-online-pharmacies

2gypsies wrote:
You'd be surprised where your 'U.S.' drugs are manufacturered.

It's perfectly safe and legal to order Canadian drugs.

Generics are perfectly safe.

(We both retired from a top U.S. pharmaceutical company and we've bought Canadian - and Mexican)

The fine print.......from canadiandrugs.....

Be advised that, given the international nature of the practice of International Prescription Services (IPS) pharmacy, there may be limitations in the ability of the Manitoba Pharmaceutical Association (MPhA), which is the statutory licensing authority for pharmacies and pharmacists in the Province of Manitoba, to investigate and prosecute complaints from persons who receive services or products from an IPS pharmacy. Manitoba pharmacists are not permitted to fill US physicians' prescriptions. They can only fill prescriptions issued by a physician licensed in a province or territory of Canada. M.Ph.A takes the position that it may be contrary to professional standards for a pharmacist to fill prescriptions by a physician, licensed in a province or territory of Canada, who has not established an acceptable patient physician relationship with you. Canada Drugs LP is presently licensed in the province of Manitoba by the Manitoba Pharmaceutical Association. License Number 32195

Being we winter in Arizona we buy some prescriptions in Mexico. We don't buy generic ones down there as you don't save much, but non-generic prescriptions can be bought for about 30% of what they want to charge in the US. I also get my dental work down there also for about 30% of what they want to charge in the US. As a farmer they always tell us that what we receive for our products have to compete in the global economy. I feel the same way about health care. What is fair for goose should be fair for the gander!:)

There is a constant attempt to make importing drugs into the US even under prescription illegal.. This is a political issue however and thus discussion of it is discouraged on these forums (for very good reason).

That said... The "official" excuse is that the FDA (US) does not control drugs sold in Canada and the Canadian version of the FDA will not accept complaints from the US.
The drugs, however, are very often the very same drug, made in the very same plant, to the very same specifications, and may even be from the very same batch.

Thus... Go For It, so long as you can.

I use CanadaDrugs.com mainly because they list the country of origin for both the brand name and generic equivalents, and give a choice of which one to order. I buy a generic, made in Canada, alternative to the brand name drug available here. I have the choice of generics, two made in Canada and one made by “various generic manufacturers.” My insurance co-pay here is $121 for 90 tablets. The Canadian equivalent is $64 for 100 tablets, delivered in the manufacturers sealed container. I find it interesting that my pills are mailed from Germany.

We have used quite a few meds from Mexico when we were too young for medicare part D. One med that we were paying $500. a month for in the USA sold for $20. in Mexico.

You'd be surprised where your 'U.S.' drugs are manufacturered.

It's perfectly safe and legal to order Canadian drugs.

Generics are perfectly safe.

(We both retired from a top U.S. pharmaceutical company and we've bought Canadian - and Mexican)

I guess it's time to move this to Health issues.

I worked in the Canadian pharmaceutical industry just about all my adult career. One large company in particular that I worked with for 20 years manufactured prescription drugs, sterile injectables, OTC products and radiopharmaceuticals. These were manufactured on behalf of most of the huge US pharmaceutical giants and sent to the USA. All products and manufacturing processes were FDA inspected and approved. Like other manufacturers most everything is outsourced.

rgatijnet1 wrote:

Y-Guy wrote:

rgatijnet1 wrote:
Here is a good read on colchicine/colcrys and why the drug went from 9 cents a pill generic to $4.95 a pill under the new FDA in 2009-2010. Our government gave an exclusive marketing to a drug company if the drug company gave the FDA a $45 million application fee. The generic was removed from the shelves. Colchicine/Colcrys

They caught me on this, didn't know it was coming or I would have refilled my colchicine before. I ended up with the new stuff, swear it was not as effective and gave me sticker shock too.

Yep, the drug had been in production for more than 100 years so don't tell me about the manufacturer deserves a return on their investment. This was all about the FDA giving one company, URL Pharma, a chance to make a fortune if they supported Obamacare and for that, they were given an exclusive, and a NEW patent, on a drug that was first developed in the 1820's. This was not the only drug that was rebadged and changed from generic to a specialty drug in the 2009-2011 time frame. It was, and always has been, all about the money.
Colchicine is still available overseas for less than 10 cents a pill.

This is cronyism at its worst. It is precisely why heavy government regulation is bad for an economy. As long as you have money to "purchase" the government protection you can make a fortune on the backs of the rest of us. This is true for garbage monopolies, cable TV in most places, taxi cabs etc. If you have money you can purchase a law, rule, or regulation that will help you and hurt your competition. All these things are a huge barrier to entry and further limit the choices people have. Some people think healthcare is special and can't benefit from open competition. Think about the medicine and services in the cosmetic surgery area. The costs have actually dropped in real dollars and the service is better. It is similar with veterinary medicine as well. If the consumer who wants the service is actually in the most part paying for the service has a choice of multiple providers competing for their money the consumer wins. Only when someone else is paying do the "consumers" want the most expensive product. They don't have to make good decisions that they make for every other product. Get the government out of the way as much as possible and let the market determine the value of a product or service. BTW I'm not making an all or nothing argument jus that the existing drug approval process is broken and full of cronyism.