Last week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration accused Gov. Jim Doyle of putting the health and safety of Wisconsin citizens at risk by providing an Internet site allowing citizens to purchase pharmaceuticals from Canadian pharmacies at a much cheaper cost.
The FDA argued drugs made in other countries are not safe or effective because their pharmacies do not abide by the strict regulatory standards of American pharmacies.
Even though the Canadian pharmacies linked to Doyle's Web site have been found to be \safe, reputable, and reliable,"" the FDA continued to insist that many Canadian pharmacies increase the risk of receiving counterfeit drugs.
Dr. Linda Farley, a retired Madison physician, said the FDA is giving out false information.
""[Canadian pharmacies'] standards are either as high or higher [than American pharmacies] as long as you are getting [drugs] from a reliable pharmacy,"" she said, adding the United States has counterfeit drug problems as well.
She said this is a problem that arises when using the Internet for prescriptions. One must be careful and make sure the pharmacy is reliable, which is what Doyle has done, she said.
According to Farley, no one as of yet has received counterfeit medicine from Canada.
""If there are people who need these prescriptions and can't afford them and so far there's no evidence that they're getting any bad stuff from these pharmacies in Canada, then gee, it's either die because you don't have a medicine you need or take a chance,"" Farley said.
According to a press release from Doyle, about 53,000 people have logged on to this Internet site, which Doyle says illustrates that Wisconsin residents need affordable prescription drugs. Doyle said Wisconsin will continue to act on its own, even if the federal government will not help.
If Doyle refuses to comply with FDA demands, he will be taken to court, according to Charles Schudson, judge on the Wisconsin Court of Appeals.
Farley said she believes the federal government should deal with the regulation of pharmaceutical costs in the United States and not have to rely on other countries to get medications that the U.S. should provide.
""Look, we have to do this and we hope that it forces this administration to change our new Medicare law so that we can actually bargain with pharmaceutical companies to get discounted prices,"" Farley said.
