PRESCRIPTION DRUGS FROM CANADA

Date: February 7, 2006
Posted At: ABC.com
By: Ric Romero

"It sure would cut down on free money, if you will," Greenfield said.

So Wallace gets his prescriptions through Canadian pharmacies where prices are lower. However, his pills don't always come from Canada. One prescription "came from Greece," Greenfield said.

The United States government says it happens all the time and is a growing concern.

"We were beginning to see a pattern of products coming, that were purporting to be of Canadian origin coming from various countries from throughout the world," Steve Niedelman, of the Food and Drug Administration said.

So the FDA launched an investigation and confiscated thousands of foreign drug shipments. When the drugs were opened, nearly half claimed to be of Canadian origin, but weren't.

"85% of them were from 27 other countries. We saw product coming through from Germany, from Australia, from China, from Iran, from Ecuador," Niedelman said.

And more than 30 of the confiscated drugs turned out to be counterfeit.

Jerry Flanagan of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights in Santa Monica says there is always some risk when ordering drugs from overseas.

"If the pill looks any differently than you are normally used to seeing it, different shape, different color, take it to a pharmacist," Flanagan said.

But Flanagan says he's not overly concerned about the fact that the drugs claiming to come from Canadian pharmacies actually come from other countries.

"This is normal activity. Most drugs that you would buy in your neighborhood pharmacy are also produced overseas," Flanagan said.

The FDA says there is a big difference, drugs sold here must comply with United States laws and safety standards. That can't be guaranteed if the drugs are ordered overseas.

"They don't know whether they do or do not contain active ingredients, whether they're sub-potent, whether they're super-potent," Niedelman said.