Canada Drug Talk

Rex Wilmouth

"The 46 million uninsured (Americans) pay 60 percent more than the federal government pays for the same drugs. The uninsured pay about twice what they would pay for he same drugs at a Canadian pharmacy... Prescription drug pricing is out of control and puts needed medical treatment out of reach for too many Americans."

Rex Wilmouth is State Director of Colorado Public Interest Research Group.

Source: National Survey Shows Uninsured Americans Pay Higher Prices For Prescription Drugs - Uninsured Coloradans Paying Nearly Twice As Much As They Should (Colorado Public Interest Research Group)

Senator or Stain on Senate Floor - How Did Your Senator Vote on Drug Reimportation Amendment

Would you like to know how your senator voted on the prescription drug reimportation amendment?

According to the Vote Summary of U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 109th Congress - 2nd Session, those who voted for the ammendment outnumbered those who opposed it by over two to one.

Statement of Purpose:

To prohibit the United States Customs and Border Protection from preventing an individual not in the business of importing a prescription drug from importing an FDA-approved prescription drug.

Vote Counts:

YEAs: 68
NAYs: 32

Who voted for the ammendment?

Akaka (D-HI), Allard (R-CO), Baucus (D-MT), Bayh (D-IN), Biden (D-DE), Bingaman (D-NM), Boxer (D-CA), Brownback (R-KS), Burns (R-MT), Byrd (D-WV), Cantwell (D-WA), Carper (D-DE), Chafee (R-RI), Clinton (D-NY), Coburn (R-OK), Collins (R-ME), Conrad (D-ND), Craig (R-ID), Dayton (D-MN), DeMint (R-SC), Dodd (D-CT), Dorgan (D-ND), Durbin (D-IL), Feingold (D-WI), Feinstein (D-CA), Grassley (R-IA), Harkin (D-IA), Inhofe (R-OK), Inouye (D-HI), Jeffords (I-VT), Johnson (D-SD), Kennedy (D-MA), Kerry (D-MA), Kohl (D-WI), Landrieu (D-LA), Lautenberg (D-NJ), Leahy (D-VT), Levin (D-MI), Lieberman (D-CT), Lincoln (D-AR), Lott (R-MS), Lugar (R-IN), Martinez (R-FL), McCain (R-AZ), Menendez (D-NJ), Mikulski (D-MD), Murkowski (R-AK), Murray (D-WA), Nelson (D-FL), Nelson (D-NE), Obama (D-IL), Pryor (D-AR), Reed (D-RI), Reid (D-NV), Rockefeller (D-WV), Salazar (D-CO), Sarbanes (D-MD), Schumer (D-NY), Sessions (R-AL), Shelby (R-AL), Smith (R-OR), Snowe (R-ME), Specter (R-PA), Stabenow (D-MI), Talent (R-MO), Thune (R-SD), Vitter (R-LA) and Wyden (D-OR).

Thank you all for having the common sense and wisdom to protect our borders from real threats and to help grandparents throughout the US get safe, affordable prescription drugs from Canada.  You are all a credit to the Senate and politics in general.

Who voted against the ammendment?

Alexander (R-TN), Allen (R-VA), Bennett (R-UT), Bond (R-MO), Bunning (R-KY), Burr (R-NC), Chambliss (R-GA), Cochran (R-MS), Coleman (R-MN), Cornyn (R-TX), Crapo (R-ID), DeWine (R-OH), Dole (R-NC), Domenici (R-NM), Ensign (R-NV), Enzi (R-WY), Frist (R-TN), Graham (R-SC), Gregg (R-NH), Hagel (R-NE), Hatch (R-UT), Hutchison (R-TX), Isakson (R-GA), Kyl (R-AZ), McConnell (R-KY), Roberts (R-KS), Santorum (R-PA), Stevens (R-AK), Sununu (R-NH), Thomas (R-WY), Voinovich (R-OH) and Warner (R-VA).

Shame on you!

By wasting Homeland Security resources to protect Big Pharma's profits, you:

• endangered our country by exposing us to real terrorist threats
• betrayed the people of the state who voted for you hoping that you would protect the interests of the constituents, not those of corporations who put short-term profits ahead of long-term national health
• made grandparents suffer needlessly because the drugs they paid for were stolen by their own government at the Canadian border

In my opinion, the carrion who voted against this amendment are not Senators.

The word senate is derived from the Latin word senex (old man).

If anyone called me 'old man' to my face, they would be asking for one in the kisser.  If they quietly looked up 'old man' in a dictionary, however, there would probably be a picture of someone who looks a lot like me (not as virile and charming, mind you, but the similarities would outnumber the differences).

The meaning of the word senate comes from a simple social organization in which decision-making powers are reserved for the eldest men in a society.

Again, if you put me somewhere on a scale between youngest and eldest in our society, I would probably be closer to the latter.

While it would be unreasonable (and age discrimination) to expect only the eldest of our society to be voted into our Senate (we are a democracy, after all, and there are many Senators with wisdom beyond their years), you would think that the Senate would at least have the courtesy, wisdom and common sense to protect the interests of the eldest in our society - people on whose backs this nation was built.

If the Senate puts corporate profits over the interests of taxpayers who worked hard and, in some cases, risked life and limb for this nation, what kind of sacrifice can you expect from the next generation?

That is why I think the carrion who voted against this amendment are not Senators.  They ignored the immediate interests of the eldest in our society.  More importantly, they betrayed the long-term interests of our nation by showing that personal sacrifices for the good of the nation are not repaid in kind but campaign contributions are.

Simply put, the short-sighted slugs who voted against the amendment are not Senators but stains on the Senate floor.

Hopefully there will be a clean-up on aisle five when their seats are up for election.

Source: US Senate Roll Call Votes

Senator Vitter Follows Through

Vitter Shows Off His Follow-through (Source: The Shreveport Times)

Give US Senator David Vitter credit for pushing ahead on one of his key campaign issues by working to loosen the borders for the importation of cheaper prescription drugs from Canada.

Vitter... engineered passage of a Canadian loophole on a Food and Drug Administration ban regarding the importation of prescription medicine....  while sold more cheaply to Canadian and other foreign markets, are often made in the same factories.

Senator Judd Gregg

"If I were a creative terrorist, I would say to myself, 'Hey, listen, all I've got to do is produce a can here that says 'Lipitor' on it, make it look like the original Lipitor bottle, which isn't too hard to do, fill it with anthrax.'"

Senator Judd Gregg said the proposal to let Canadian drugs into the US was "...creating a massive hole on our capacity to secure our borders and protect ourselves."

Source: Senate Relents on Canada Drug Imports (Associated Press)

Editor's Response:

If I were a creative terrorist...

If you were a creative terrorist?

Senator Gregg, a creative terrorist would do their homework.   A creative terrorist would know that drugs from Canada are factory sealed.  A creative terrorist would know that it would be easier to introduce poisoned drugs into the system using an American pharmacy (where pills are still counted).

Fortunately for those of us who live in the real world, a creative terrorist would also know that one does not maximize fear by poisoning people one bottle of pills at a time.

Speaking of pills, I am sorry but I have to ask:

When you dreamed up your clever Lipitor scheme, Senator Gregg, were you on the same pills Lester Crawford probably was on when he said Terrorists may Tamper with Prescription Drugs from Canada?

That was back in 2004!

Creative terrorist?  You are not even a creative senator.

Playing the terror card?  Using fear against grandparents trying to make ends meet by importing prescription drugs from Canada?

Shame on you, Senator Gregg! At 59 years of age you should know better.

Just so you know: Baseless scare-tactics won't work against us.  Unlike you, we do our homework.

And the next time you think of trying to use fear as a weapon against us, remember that it takes a bit of courage, a lot of hard work and a fair bit of brains to get to our age.

People enjoying life after sixty are survivors, not suckers.

We just don't scare that easily, Mr. Senator.

Senate Passes Drug Reimportation Amendment

Senate Passes Drug Reimportation Amendment (Source: The Hill)

Supporters of drug reimportation notched a win yesterday when the Senate passed a bill that would prohibit federal funds from being used to confiscate prescription drugs from Canada.

The measure passed 68-32, with no opposition from Democrats.

Senator David Vitter

"We should demand that (Customs and Border Protection) focus on the true priority that we face on the war on terror... Stripping small amounts of prescription drugs from the hands of seniors... that should not be a priority."

Source: Senate OKs Canada Drug Import Plan (Guardian Unlimited)

Senate OKs Canada Drug Import Plan

Senate OKs Canada Drug Import Plan (Source: Guardian Unlimited)

The Senate opened the way Tuesday to let Americans import prescription drugs into the United States from Canada, seeking to ease a regulatory ban on cheaper medicine crossing the border.

The proposal, which was approved 68-32, would create a Canadian loophole on an FDA ban on importing prescription medicine into the United States.

Levin, Stabenow Support Prescription Drug Measure

Levin, Stabenow Support Prescription Drug Measure (Source: Detroit Free Press)

Senators Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow helped the Senate pass a measure letting people buy their prescription drugs from Canada.

The Senate's homeland security spending bill approved last week allows Americans to import prescription drugs from Canada despite a Food and Drug Administration ban on importing prescription medicine into the United States.

Prescription drugs are generally sold at cheaper prices in Canada and other countries because of government price controls. The Senate passed the measure on a 68-32 vote.

Editor's Note: Brand name drugs are sold cheaper in Canada but 'government price controls' are only one of many factors.  To find out more, please read Why are Canadian Drug Prices Lower?  Also, keep in mind that generic drugs tend to be cheaper in the US than they are in Canada.  For more information, see Generic Drugs - Buy Locally and Shop Around in our Hints/Tips section.

Linda Van Gundy

"As far as I'm concerned, my government stole my drugs... And they're not going to pay me back for them."

Seventy-year-old Linda Van Gundy hoped Xenical would help her lose weight to relieve medical problems.  A one-month supply of Xenical costs $200 in the US and $99 in Canada (free shipping).  Since April, she lost six pounds and saved $400 buying Canadian drugs.

Last month, however, Linda's shipment of Xenical was siezed by federal authorities on its way into the country.

Source: Peoria Journal Star News (July 9th, 2006)