Minnesota seniors' drugs seized (in Fla.)

[Nambe]

Star Tribune

U.S. customs officials in Miami have seized a prescription drug shipment from a Canadian pharmacy with about 350 orders, half intended for members of the Minnesota Senior Federation, officials said Tuesday.

The drugs were shipped about two weeks ago by CanadaRx, based in Toronto, the primary pharmacy used by the Senior Federation.

Even more remarkable than the seizure itself -- reportedly the largest U.S. interception of low-cost drugs from a Canadian mail-order pharmacy, valued at $250,000 -- were the sources. ..

Harvey Organ, an owner of CanadaRx, said his firm talked with FDA officials before opening the office in the Bahamas July 1.

"They knew what we were doing," he said. "We keep talking with those guys, and they listen and smile and then they pull something like this." ..

Wyckoff said his organization gave CanadaRx permission to begin procuring drugs from other countries, "and we're comfortable with that. We know CanadaRx, and we know the standards in the other countries are excellent."

Ride Don’t Drive * * It’s Global Cool

[brainshrub]

1. Have I mentioned today how much I HATE the medical care in this country?

It's sick that seniors have to work about drug busts so they can get the medicine they need.

[saigon68]

2. "You OLD PEOPLE ARE SO PATHETIC"

"If you had worked harder WHEN YOU COULD you would have saved money to buy your drugs", proclaimed the CHIMPANZEE President.

Nice work on the wheel chair set ---CHIMPY

[0007]

8. ....but I did work hard all my life. My pension was lost by a greedy

corporation and though the legal act of American laws that favor the wealthy over the little guy.

I'm willing to work, but very few will hire an old man. Now they want to fuck with my drugs.

If I think about throwing an acey ducey John Ashcroft will be camped at my front door.

[Bozita]

12. Your fault. You should have worked for a better company.

Personal responsibility, you know.

[saigon68]

14. I Did try to work for Brown and Root, a Division of Halliburton (2ll's)

They were too busy hiring Mercenary soldiers getting out of the service.

[C_eh_N_eh_D_eh]

31. It's your own fault. You should have been born rich.

[Jack from Charlotte]

28. 2 comments concerning that............

My mother will turn 85 this October. She still works some and worked full time up until about 3-4 years ago. Drugs she requires have gone up in cost from under $20 per month to over $200 per month over the last 10 years. See has planned and saved well for retirement. Has a paid for house but NEVER factored in drug costs requiring more than twice what electricity and phone bill costs.

I've got a friend who is a pharmacist. He told me 10 to 15 years ago he cringed when a prescription exceeded $5 to $10 in costs because he knew he'd catch hell from the customer. Now they all cost $20 to over $100.

[mac56]

3. This is going to backfire dramatically against *

Seniors in MN will not vote for him. Here's hoping seniors in other states get the word.

[mom cat]

4. We just won Florida and the senior vote!!!!!!!

Those greedy mother-cheneying pigs will pay for this.
:dem:

[Rose Siding]

15. Some kind of rapid response needs to be made

Has anyone seen any campaign statements about this?

[Cybergata]

5. Ah, the new side of the drug wars...

I can't believe the absurdity of all it. Profits before people! This country has been taken over by some truly greedy, evil b*stards. :hippie:

[Bozita]

6. Gee, I haven't read a thing about dead bodies on Bahamian streets ...

... from adulterated or contaminated prescription drugs.

Good thing that big pharma doesn't control parts of our government.

[prolesunited]

7. What happened to free trade

and capitalism?

And just what happens to the people who NEED this medicine? They just going to let them die to protect the pharmaceutical industry?

I hope this story gets a LOT of play.

[reprobate]

32. going to let them die to protect the pharmaceutical industry?

Yes. They are republicans after all.

[Randomthought]

9. Boycott Fed Ex!

The FDA would have never known or at least looked the other way if Fed Ex hadn't made an issue of it.

[Norbert]

10. Remember which group votes in the highest percentage.

Definately seniors. I really hope this story gets played up a lot in the media. Look at the states that have either swung Kerrys way or at least become battleground states. Arizona, Florida and Nevada all have significant numbers of seniors.

[Geo55]

11. How pathetic,

if every senior citizen doesn't vote Chimpy & crew out in Nov. ....
then senility HAS set in....see your docter.

[aquart]

13. Miami. They're persecuting the aged in Miami.

They must really believe the fix is in.

[Emboldened Chimp]

16. It's nice to see Customs working on behalf of Big Pharm

Those sneaky seniors are cutting into corporate profits. Damn them!

[2Design]

17. More reasons for people to leave this country and move

to ones that have health care. And our Jobs.

[napi21]

18. Are we sure this has hit the wires?

I know we shouldn't have to do the job of reporters, but can we be sure this has reached the national media outlets? I checked, and it is a story by the Mn. newspaper reporter. I want to see it on the main stream news, & CNN, MSNBC, and yes, even FOX!

Sounds like an item Lou Dobbs might be interested in as well!

[Bozita]

19. Yep, story is made-to-order for Dobbs ... and Olbermann

[Ganja Ninja]

20. What really annoys me about this whole Canadian drug thing is ..

Why in the hell do Americans have to order their drugs from Canada to get a discount in the first place? I know Kerry says he's for people being able to by Canadian drugs but again I have to ask, Why should we have too? A lot of these drugs are made right here in the USA yet we pay more than any place else. Every industrialized country in the world negotiates with drug companies for lower prices for their consumers. Why can't our government? Why can't the American people see how corrupt this is? If it weren't for the Republican Party and the dumb ass people that vote for them we wouldn't have to order drugs from Canada.

[Nevernose]

21. Kerry called for government negotiations just last night

At his rally in Las Vegas. The problem w/ negotiating w/ the pharmaceutical corporations is this: can you picture the Republican congress doing ANYTHING to get us a good deal on life-saving medications? Even if they DID negotiate, it would probably be only to make the prices higher.

[napi21]

23. You're absolutely RIGHT! The only reason I supported buying

drugs from Canada is because I doubt Kerry could ever win by supporting some kind of controls on the drug companies. As I understanad it, the reason drugs in Canada are so much cheaper than in the US is because Canada has regulations over how much a drug price can be increased each year. Any candidate who even mentions price controls here is dead.

All along, I questioned why we say we are such an independent Country, but we have to rely on another country to solve our problems.

[SidDithers]

30. The agreement between the Canadian govt. and pharma companies...

traded off price controls in exchange for longer patent protection.

also, from the Health Canada website:
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/english/media/releases/2004/internet_pharmacybk3.htm

#

Price differentials in pharmaceutical products between different countries exist due to a combination of factors, including regulatory and legislative systems, currency, patent status, prescription requirements, and approaches to reimbursement.
#

While prices for patented drug products in Canada are, on average, lower than those in the U.S., they are in line with the six other industrialized countries in Europe, that are used for price comparison purposes. These countries all have publicly-funded health care systems and use a variety of measures to control the prices of drugs or profits of manufacturers and overall expenditures on drugs. Other market-place dynamics also influence prices.
#

Canada's Patented Medicine Prices Review Board (PMPRB) was created in 1987 under the Patent Act to protect consumer interests and contribute to Canadian health care by ensuring that prices charged by manufacturers of patented medicines are not excessive. The PMPRB's jurisdiction extends to manufacturer prices of patented medicines approved for sale in Canada. More specifically, the PMPRB regulates the first price at which the drug product is sold by the manufacturer - regardless of the purchaser, whether it be the wholesaler, pharmacy, hospital, or other.
#

Canada's drug price regime is based on factors established in the Patent Act. For new drugs, prices are limited to prices of other drugs used to treat the same disease; and to prices at which the drug is sold in seven comparator countries (France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, U.K., U.S.) As for existing drugs, the price increases are limited to changes in the Consumer Price Index. (emphasis mine)

Sid

[Tight_rope]

34. "Why can't the American people see how corrupt this is?"

In response to answer you question, I do think that people see and understand how truly corrupt the US government is and have no choice. And with all the corrupt bureaucracy they feel helpless and have soot other means of trying to survive. I for one don't blame them. It's hard to fight back when you are an 85 year old, blind, crippled, women with heart disease, cancer and high blood pressure.

[0rion]

22. It's pathetic how we treat our senior citizens

by making them pay so much for prescription drugs and never giving them a cheaper alternative.

If US Drug companies weren't gouging our seniors, they wouldn't have to goto Canada to get them.

[Gin]

24. Let's beat them at their own game....start believing in our own body's

ability to heal itself...the body is miraculous...we are "conditioned" to believe that we need these drugs.

The whole sick, greedy, pharmaceutical industry is self perpetuating to keep the flow of money coming...just like organized religions...once we wake up...and no longer need the drugs on a regular basis...their profits will decrease..their power will decrease...and they will no longer have us by the proverbial balls.

Start meditating....unleash the healing power within our own bodies..
dis-ease can be cured from within...beat them at their own game!

[NickB79]

27. Uh.....huh......

Riiiigggghhhhtttttt.........

[amazona]

29. this angers me, my mother has done yoga/meditation for 30 years

She needs her medicine to stay alive. Yoga/meditation may be well for your head, but my mother is a lifelong thin active person with heart disease who has been very involved with spiritual practice. If you live long, I don't care how thin or spiritual you are, you will get cancer or heart disease. Mother Nature meant for us to go away at 40. After that, we start to need medicine.

People who think yoga/meditation/spiritual practice mean they are not mortal are not paying attention. Good people deserve the benefits of technology that the rich and the evil expect to benefit from. Even Jesus died, was He not holy enough?

Please do not allow yourself to be used to make a "spiritual" argument that will kill our parents.

[KamaAina]

25. Guess Rush needed a refill pronto

or maybe Noelle Bush? :evilgrin:

[yellowcanine]

26. This ought to boost Kerry's numbers in Minnesota AND Florida.

Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh.Heh. Heh Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh.Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh.Heh. Heh Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh.Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh.Heh. Heh Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh.Heh. Heh......HA!

[Tight_rope]

33. Does anybody feel that Bush is trying to "KILL" as many people as possible

[pinniped]

35. Next they will have their cars impounded when they show up...

at their next Canadian drug caravan meet.

[FlaGranny]

36. Think about the side effect of this seizure.

All those seniors who bought those drugs now have to BUY THEM AGAIN at US prices probably. Since most bought these foreign drugs in the first place so they can afford their next meal, where does this leave THEM?

I had to wait a while to post this because I was cursing like a sailor. I feel like chewing up and spitting nails in the general direction of this pathetic, evil, goulish, rotten administration. Now ask me how I really feel.

[progressivebydesign]

37. It's happening up here in Washington State, also..

there was an article about it the other day. God forbid the Fed do something PRODUCTIVE!! to help seniors.