Americans looking for reduced prices on their prescription drugs found those savings in mail-order purchases from pharmacies in Canada.But last November (2005), the US Customs and Border Protection, a division of Homeland Security (HSD), stepped up confiscation of those drugs.
Lynn Hollinger, an HSD spokeswoman, said:
"We initiated this process because pharmaceuticals that are typically mailed into and out of the U.S. may pose a serious health risk to consumers, since it cannot be determined if the medication has been manufactured under FDA regulations."
- US Customs Sees the Light, The Ledger, October 8, 2006
The result ...
"Nancy Popkin was awaiting her regular mail delivery of Fosamax, an osteoporosis medication. Instead, she received a notice from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that she was violating federal law."
- Susan Stranahan, "Where's My Medication?", AARP Bulletin, September 2006
In July of this year, Senators Nelson (D-FL) and Vitter (D-LA), hoping to quell this practice, sponsored an amendment (S. Amdt. 4548) to the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Bill:
"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."
- S. Amdt. 4548
The Amendment was passed in July, and the Appropriations Bill with the amendment was passed on September 25.
This is good news for individuals who want to purchase mail-order drugs from Canada:
"U.S. Customs and Border Protection told Congress this week that it would no longer confiscate mail-order prescription drugs coming into the states from Canada after intercepting more than 40,000 such packages in less than a year."
- Kris Hundley, Customs will stop seizing drugs from Canada, St. Petersburg Times, October 4, 2006
