Iowa Pharmacy Board Gets Tough with Canadian Outlet
by John Drury
As
I write this column, a very interesting case is being heard in a Cerro
Gordo County court room. Perhaps you’ve read about it already, if not,
here’s the deal.
Back in
June of 2004, Scot and Cheryl Huff of Mason City opened the doors on a
business called Canadian Drug Outlet. Here’s how it works: customers
receive their prescriptions from their doctors, then bring them to the
Canadian Drug Outlet where the drugs are then ordered from Canadian
pharmacies over the Internet. The pharmacies then ship the drug
directly to the customers’ homes. The pharmacies pay the Huffs a
commission on orders received. It seems perfect for those senior
citizens, and anyone else that may not be all that comfortable using
the Internet, to be able to get their prescriptions filled without
taking out a second mortgage on their homes just to pay the exorbitant
costs in the United States.
A couple
of months after opening the store, the Huffs were informed by the state
that they could not legally use the word drug in the name of their
store. They were also informed that the Iowa Board of Pharmacy feels
that they are violating state law by dispensing prescription drugs
without a license. They were also directed to close the business,
stating that there have been two other attempts to do this in the state
and they have both closed their doors after receiving a warning from
the state. The Huffs did remove the word drug from the name of their
business but are still in operation. They have attracted about 500
customers since opening the doors back in June and they plan on
expanding depending on the outcome of the court case.
The
Huffs argue that they aren’t actually dispensing prescription drugs,
only helping people gain access to affordable medicine. They don’t
claim to be pharmacists. The drugs are shipped directly to the
customers’ homes from the pharmacy offering a savings of anywhere from
25 to 85 percent on the same drug sold in the United States.
The
state disagrees. The state code defines a pharmacy as “ a location
where prescription drugs are compounded, dispensed, or sold by a
pharmacist and where prescription drug orders are received or processed
in accordance with the pharmacy laws.” The state argues that this
business does enough of those things to make it a pharmacy.
This
court case is so much bigger than whether or not the Huffs get to keep
the doors open on their business. It’s obviously part of a larger
national debate that is taking place in our country. Federal law
prevents individuals from ordering drugs from Canada but they don’t
prosecute individual citizens from buying their own medicines.
In this
case, we don’t see our government concerned with the fact that people
are breaking laws and ordering their medicines from Canada from the
privacy of their own homes, instead we see them concerned that perhaps
the practice is becoming all too common and convenient for people.
Obviously,
the administrators of the state pharmacy board jump on the fear
bandwagon and tell you that they are only concerned with the safety of
the drugs being shipped to the customer.
I would
say that the Canadian Outlet offers a very important service. They
offer safe, affordable prescription drugs conveniently shipped to your
home at a savings of up to 85 percent. The Huffs have made it easier for citizens to obtain affordable drugs that are prescribed to them.
Perhaps our government is just suffering from professional jealousy.
I’ll keep you posted on the outcome of the case.
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