The following is reprint of a segment from a past WCAX broadcast regarding Douglas’ reaction to a court ruling regarding the reimportation of prescription drugs from Canada…
[segment begins]
A federal judge has dismissed Vermont’s first-in-the-nation lawsuit seeking to overturn the government’s ban on importing prescription drugs from Canada.
The Douglas administration wanted to give state workers and retirees legal protection to buy cheaper drugs in Canada. But the Food and Drug Administration denied the pilot program and Vermont sued to have the FDA’s decision overturned.
In his ruling, the judge said the Bush Administration has the legal right to block the importation program.
“I’m disappointed, but I’ve said all along re-importation of drugs is not the long term solution. What we need is to do is allow Vermonters to buy phamaceuticals at affordable prices at their neighborhood drugstores. That would require action by the Congress, frankly, to reform the marketplace for drugs, to change the patent lawas, to get generic drugs on the market sooner. We need to work on that as a long term solution,” said Gov. Jim Douglas, R-Vermont.
No word yet if the Douglas Administration will appeal.
[segment ends]
I agree with Douglas that Vermonters should be able to import their prescriptions from Canada. I would also say that we all should be able to buy prescriptions from wherever we want, whether the FDA approves or not. We should be able to buy non-fda approved drugs if we wish. I believe that the FDA has cost many more lives than they have saved with their expensive and lengthy approval process. I believe the FDA is directly causing drugs to be expensive and because of the huge costs for getting a approved, they are the reason that we have only a few pharmaceutical companies. You would have to be a large corporation to be able to afford to produce a new drug in the US.