Illinois Will Ask for Permission to Import Canadian Drugs

October 27, 2003
The state of Illinois is seeking special permission from federal regulators to buy its employees' and retirees' prescription drugs from Canada following a study ordered by Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich.

The state's investigators found that drugs from Canada are safe and effective, that Canadian regulators provide protections that are about the same as those in the United States, and that drugs sold in Canadian pharmacies are made in facilities approved by Health Canada, the federal health agency.

``Both countries' methods of ensuring safety and efficacy of prescription drugs are comparable,'' the report found. "The study says that Canadian procedures for safety are comparable and sometimes even better," the governor said in an interview.

Blagojevich says the state would save more than $90 million of the $340 million it spent on drugs last year.

Other states including Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin are looking at buying prescription drugs from Canada for state workers or for state-run Medicaid health programs.

The Food and Drug Administration and the drug industry oppose Canadian imports, citing safety concerns and federal rules that prohibit the practice.

The FDA says it cannot ensure the safety of such products and warned against counterfeit drugs, drugs kept beyond their expiration dates, drugs not approved for use in this country and drugs from other countries shipped into Canada and then elsewhere.

Governor Blagojevich plans to present the 70-page report to the Food and Drug Administration today.