The FDA Safety and Innovation Act (FDASIA) was signed into law on July 9th, 2012. The bill was long, like most major pieces of legislation, and it covered a variety of drug and regulatory issues under one document. Hidden in the bills massive 140 pages, amongst changes to licensing of medical devices, changes in fee structures for generic medication, patent exclusivity guidelines, etc, was language that that poses an immediate danger to the millions of Americans that depend on safely importing cheaper medication to maintain their health.
The language of section 708 of FDSIA will effectively end Americans’ ability to import prescription medication from Canada and other first-world nations. The affordable alternative that safe, licensed online pharmacies like CanadaDrugs.com have offered for over a decade will be outlawed and patients that have come to depend on cheaper mail-order products will be left with no way to afford their prescription drug bill.
The provision that raises alarms for anyone who has ever ordered from a Canadian online pharmacy is in section 708. This section contains language that gives government agencies the right to seize and destroy prescription drugs imported for personal use. Currently there is the ability to import up to a 90-day supply of prescription medication for personal use. Millions of Americans’ take advantage of lower international drug prices to order their life saving medication from Canada and have done so for over 10 years.
RxRights.org, a national coalition of individuals and organizations dedicated to raising awareness and spurring action around safe prescription drug importation is fighting back against the language in FDASIA. Using the “We the People” petition site that the Obama Administration created to give citizens a tool to voice their opinion on government policy decisions, RxRights has created a petition for Americans that have safely used Canadian pharmacies to voice their opposition to the threat the FDASIA poses. A threshold of 25,000 signatures is needed for the White House to respond.
The petition states:
We petition the Obama administration to: Continue to allow Americans to import, life-sustaining prescription drugs from safe international online pharmacies.
We urge the administration to delay rule-making regarding Section 708 of the FDA Safety and Innovation Act, which gives government agencies the authority to seize and destroy safe, imported medications valued at $2500 or less. Such low value shipments are clearly personal prescription drug orders. Over the past decade, millions of Americans have safely imported prescription drugs from licensed pharmacies in Canada and other countries because U.S. drug prices are unaffordable. This law will lead to higher healthcare costs, sickness, and even death.
Seniors and countless Americans who can’t afford the high price of U.S. medicine will be unjustly targeted and physically harmed by this regulation. Don’t implement this regulation until there is a solution to assist these needy Americans.
CanadaDrugs.com urges you to sign the petition and pass the word to your friends and family in order to allow us and other safe, licensed online Canadian pharmacies to continue to offer a more affordable option for your prescription drugs.
Visit and sign the White House petition.
Tags: affordable medications, canada pharmacy, canadian pharmacies, FDA, rxrights.org, white house petition
