Dan Fucarino: Legislators should vote no on dangerous prescription drug import legislation

"Many Canadian Prescriptions aren't Canadian at All"
published April 1, 2019 by FloridaPolitics.com

On Thursday, the Florida House Health & Human Services Committee approved a bill to allow prescription drug imports from Canada. It now heads to House floor for a full vote.
As a practicing pharmacist in Tampa, I understand the motivation behind this legislation.
Every day, I see the negative impact of high prescription drug prices. I’ve often seen customers walk away from the pharmacy counter because they can’t afford their prescriptions.
Many patients have told me they’ve experimented with purchasing Canadian drugs online in order to save money.
A nationwide survey by Kaiser Health found that 8 percent of Americans said they or family members had imported prescription drugs.
I sympathize, yet I always caution against this move. The monetary rewards of Canadian prescriptions are just not worth their safety risks.
I urge Florida legislators to listen to health care experts on this issue rather than the understandable populist appeals and vote no on this dangerous legislation — and then get back to working on more productive ways to lower drug prices for Floridians.
Thousands of Americans have been injured or killed by imported prescription drugs.

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