Colin McLelland, an AP reporter based in Toronto, indicated that Canada is considering banning the sales of prescriptions over the Internet (unless the physician has personally seen the patient). More below the fold, including the suspicion that pressure is not coming from within the Canadian government, but from you-know-who.....
....TORONTO -- Canadian health officials are drafting a proposal to prevent Internet pharmacies from selling mail-order prescription drugs to U.S. consumers, a spokesman said Wednesday, a move that would essentially kill a $700 million industry that has become increasingly popular with underinsured patients in search of cheaper medicine.
The issue has become politically touchy for President Bush, whose administration has argued that reimporting U.S.-made drugs from Canada would put consumers at risk because U.S. regulators could not guarantee their safety. The pharmaceutical industry, which donated heavily to Bush's re-election campaign, vehemently opposes reimporting drugs, a practice that undercuts their U.S. sales.
Representatives of both the U.S. and Canadian governments say Bush discussed the issue with Prime Minister Paul Martin when he visited in the fall. That has sparked accusations that Bush pressured Martin to change Canadian policy -- an accusation the White House denies.
Full article available at:
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/bfpnews/news/5000h.htm