The campaign of systematic drug rationing in Canada conducted by pharmaceutical companies barely leaves enough medicine to meet Canadian citizen’s demands, never mind the thousands of Americans waiting to import prescription drugs.

Still, U.S. mail order prescriptions from Canada are growing 18 percent annually, estimated to top $1 billion this year. With more cities and states establishing programs to import prescription, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has stepped up its campaign to explain potential dangers of these significantly less expensive Canadian drugs. This campaign has intensified despite 69 percent of Americans and 95 percent of small business owners favoring prescription drug importation from Canada, according to a Washington Post/ABC News poll and a Small Business Survey Bureau, Inc. survey.

In Massachusetts, the Senate approved creating a website to allow residents to import prescriptions from Canada, however the House may defeat this effort. Senators Tom Daschle (D-SD) and John McCain (R-AZ) recently filed a bipartisan bill to allow importation of FDA-approved prescription drugs from 25 industrialized nations, but the powerful industry lobbying group, Pharmaceutical Researchers and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), will spend an estimated $125 million this year lobbying against it at the state and federal level.

It’s enough to make you sick. Lost in all the wrangling is that Americans are being forced to choose between buying food or medication. Call your legislators today to let them know what you think about this issue.

Sincerely,

Francis Carroll

CEO and Founder