Daily Health Policy Report
[Apr 22, 2004]
Prescription Drugs | Sen. Dayton Criticizes Action by FDA To Stop Busload of Seniors Who Purchased Medicines in Canada
In a letter to FDA Commissioner Lester Crawford, Sen. Mark Dayton (D-Minn.) on Wednesday criticized FDA’s inspection last fall of a bus of seniors returning from a trip to a Winnipeg, Canada pharmacy to buy prescription drugs, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. On Oct. 22, FDA agents boarded the “Rx Express” bus as it returned to Minnesota and inspected medicines that passengers had purchased in Canada (Diaz, Minneapolis Star Tribune, 4/22). After a “cursory review,” FDA agents decided that the drugs could be imported and did not seize any of the products, John Taylor, FDA associate commissioner, said. FDA permits the importation of prescription drugs for personal use, though the practice is technically illegal. The U.S. Customs Service requested the inspection, according to Taylor (Frommer, AP/Philadelphia Inquirer, 4/22). In his letter to Crawford, Dayton wrote, “Until the FDA action, those trips were unimpeded by Customs or other federal officials,” adding that the inspection “was extremely stressful to some of the elderly riders and has caused alarm among prospective riders” (Minneapolis Star Tribune, 4/22). Dayton donates his entire Senate salary to finance bus trips between Minnesota and Canada, during which riders can purchase medicines in Canada, where they often cost less than in the United States. In his letter, Dayton, who only recently became aware of the incident, asked FDA officials whether the inspection was “the beginning of a new practice of harassment and intimidation against elderly citizens who are traveling themselves to Canada to make their prescription drug purchases.” Taylor said that the inspection was “an unusual event,” adding, “This is not consistent with our current practice. I would not expect it to happen again” (AP/Philadelphia Inquirer, 4/22)