State (California) weighs foreign drugs | Sacramento Bee

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State weighs foreign drugs
FDA closes Texas supplier as Burton offers bill to buy Canadian medicines.

By Lisa Rapaport -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 a.m. PST Friday, January 23, 2004

Federal regulators took another step to block U.S. cities from purchasing Canadian drugs Thursday, even as California lawmakers rolled out legislation that would direct state agencies to buy medications from the cheaper pharmacies north of the border.

The Food and Drug Administration moved to shut down Texas-based Expedite-Rx, the company supplying Canadian drugs to employees and retirees of Montgomery, Ala. It was the second U.S. city to buy its prescriptions from Canada, and this was the second time federal authorities took action to put a city's supplier out of business.

Though it is illegal for states and cities to import Canadian drugs, a nationwide backlash against the law has gained momentum as cash-strapped governments try to lower their health costs and assist consumers. In Canada, price caps make costly brand name drugs up to 80 percent cheaper than they are in the United States.

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