would remove barriers to importing Canadian drugs. Democrats, the traditional foes of big drug companies and their pricing practices, also are taking on the issue. The latest volley: Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich filed a petition with the FDA on Thursday asking for approval for drug importation for his state's residents.
The Bush administration says the issue is safety. Americans can't be sure the drugs they order from Canada aren't tainted or counterfeit. A task force headed by U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona has scheduled a public meeting on the issue next week.
Some senior citizens aren't buying the argument that Canadian drugs aren't safe. For many drugs, the same manufacturing plants supply both countries.
"For the Americans to say the Canadians ship tainted drugs is ridiculous," said Fran Bowman, a Spokane octogenarian who buys her prescription drugs from an Alberta pharmacy. Alberta has the second-fastest growth rate among the provinces in cross-border Internet drug sales. British Columbia has the fastest. Manitoba is still No. 1 in volume.
If she's an outlaw for buying Canadian drugs, Fran Bowman has plenty of company, she said. She and her husband, Jack, save $200 a month.
With an annual income of $31,000, the Bowmans have been told they make too much to get prescription drug help from the VA Health Care System, although Jack is a World War II veteran. But they don't make enough to afford $600 a month for a blood thinner, an anti-depressant, glaucoma eye drops and various other medications they take.
The massive Medicare reform law signed by President Bush last year contained a drug benefit, but didn't go far enough, Bowman said.
"It will help some people, but it won't help us," she said. In addition, the Medicare reform law expressly prohibits the government from negotiating for lower prices with drug companies.
Buying drugs from Canada is a stopgap measure, not a real solution to high prices, said Don Williams, executive director of the Washington state Board of Pharmacy. He notes that any large-scale importation would strain the Canadian system, which accommodates a population of 30 million, but couldn't bear an additional 280 million potential buyers.
"It's not the solution to high drug prices in the United States," he said. "You're importing drug price controls. We're basically the only industrial nation that does not have price controls on drugs."
Awaiting additional guidance from the federal government, the Washington Board of Pharmacy takes a position that importation is illegal, Williams said. The Spokane storefront that will close at the end of the month violated state law, too, when it opened last fall.
The pharmacy board directed Frombach to change the name of his business, which started as Northwest Discount Drug Center. Without a state pharmacy license, Frombach couldn't legally use words like "drug."
State law also prohibits Frombach from advertising the unlicensed, out-of-state, mail-order pharmacy.
Frombach complied with the state's requirements, changing the business name and ceasing advertising.
He also claims he's been hassled by U.S. Customs and Border Protection personnel when he crosses the border at Nelway, B.C. A customs agency spokesman acknowledged Frombach may be getting extra scrutiny at the border because he's involved in cross-border drug trade.
Frombach also said his application for an employer identification number from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service was rejected five times, although he had his lawyer go over it carefully.
"This is a full-scale conspiracy from the feds," he said. "You win."
•Carla K. Johnson can be reached at (509) 459-5148 or by e-mail at carlaj@spokesman.com.
