Canadians Concerned About US Prescription Drug Importation Proposals

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John Adams of the Best Medicines Coalition, a Canadian group that represents 28 different patient organizations, has described the Trump administration’s plan to import medication from Canada as a “clear and present danger” to the Canadian prescription drug system, according to AP. 

Diabetes Canada was one of the 28 signers of the Best Medicines Coalition letter.  Kim Hanson, Executive Director of Diabetes Canada was quoted in CBC warning: “It's clear to us that whatever measures need to be put in place to prevent, for example, large-scale importation by online pharmacies or large-scale importation by large U.S. states, has to be put in place because Canada is not structured to produce an amount of medications required for a population that size."

Additionally, the Los Angeles Times reports that the Canadian Pharmacists Association is “calling on the federal government to clearly express its opposition to U.S. drug importation, and immediately develop an action plan to respond to these proposals including restricting exportation of drugs from Canada to the U.S.”

 Adams told the Los Angeles Times, “It’s pathetic that President Trump feels so weak that he needs to raid the medicine cabinets of Canadians in order to solve a problem that exists in the U.S. There aren’t enough supplies in Canada to meet the needs of Americans.”