| Then quit sending me spam offering me drugs... |
Canada's health minister said Wednesday that his country "cannot be the drug store of the United States" - a warning that comes as several states are pushing to buy low-cost prescription drugs north of the border. "It is difficult for me to conceive of how a small country like Canada could meet the prescription drug needs of approximately 280 million Americans without putting our own supply at serious risk," Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh said in prepared text for a speech at Harvard Medical School.
Business has been booming for Canadian Internet pharmacies that take orders from Americans looking to buy Canadian drugs made less expensive by government price controls. Busloads of Americans cross the border to take advantage of Canadian drug prices that can be as much as 80 per cent lower in some instances, according to a congressional study. Dosanjh said Canadian health officials have found no evidence so far of shortages in Canada, but he predicted potential problems down the road if demand increases. "To me it is a matter of common sense that Canada cannot be the drug store of the United States," he said. "Neither American consumers nor Canadian suppliers should have any illusions otherwise." |