27 June 2004
Unwanted prescription?
Calling your business a "pharmacy," a discount "drug" store, an "Rx" or an "apothecary" doesn't make it so. But doing so in Florida without a state license to practice pharmacy is now illegal.
The new state law, which Gov. Bush signed last month, strengthens health officials' efforts to shut down or force into regulation dozens of unlicensed storefronts. But Floridians who rely on some of the shops for what may otherwise be unaffordable medicine will take little comfort in this effort to protect consumers as long as Congress refuses to control drug costs.
This month, the state health department issued cease-and-desist orders to 12 discount drug storefronts, including one in West Palm Beach that had closed a year ago. It was not the first time, Health Secretary John Agwunobi said, that the state has cited the businesses for being what he calls "front offices for mail-order pharmacies." But now, he said, the state law has clarified the rules.
"I am not worried about the drugs themselves," Dr. Agwunobi said in an interview. "What I am worried about is the system used to deliver the drugs." Without regulation, he said correctly, there is no way to assure quality, and the system is vulnerable to the exploitation by "a criminal element."
Still, health officials may find it hard to convince consumers that unlicensed means unreliable when even the health department's two-year investigation did not find evidence of counterfeit drugs sold through a discount storefront. A recent report by congressional investigators found that prescription drugs obtained from Canadian Web sites pose fewer risks than medications purchased from online pharmacies elsewhere. In some instances, according to the General Accounting Office, Canadian pharmacies had stricter standards than those in the United States.
Although the Department of Health is not targeting drugs shipped particularly from Canada, nine of the 12 cited have "Canada" or "Canadian" in their names -- a reflection of the popularity and perceived safety the practice has gained in the past two years. Federal legislation to legalize drug imports from Canada is pending and has received bipartisan support.
Last year, Palm Beach County State Attorney Barry Krischer pointed out that the state law did not make operating such storefronts a crime. Now that the law has changed, he questions whether the new law and legislation the governor has not yet signed are enforceable. Senate Bill 1372, which the governor must act on by Thursday, would regulate Internet pharmacies, making it a felony under some circumstances to operate without a license. It would be easier, Mr. Krischer said, to require the businesses to get a license and then deny the license. "Starting out with a civil penalty may make more sense," he said, "than starting out with a 15-year penalty."
Yes, Florida has made it illegal to peddle discount prescription drugs from Canada or anywhere else without a license. But for now, the Department of Health is issuing only warnings. Everyone is still waiting for Congress to act
Palm Beach Post Editorial
Sunday, June 27, 2004
close window