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Customs will stop seizing drugs from Canada

By KRIS HUNDLEY
Published October 4, 2006

U.S. Customs and Border Protection told Congress this week that it would no longer confiscate mail-order prescription drugs coming into the states from Canada after intercepting more than 40,000 such packages in less than a year.

Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Florida, who had pushed for an investigation into the seizures that began in November, hailed the federal agency's change as a major victory for consumers.

"For nearly a year, the White House has been punishing seniors for filling their prescriptions at lower Canadian prices," said Nelson, who criticized the crackdown as an attempt to force people into Medicare's prescription drug plan. "Now it looks like the government is getting out of the business of harassing these consumers."

While importing drugs into the United States is illegal, the Food and Drug Administration generally had not interfered with medicines being ordered for personal use. House and Senate Republicans agreed last month on legislation to allow Americans to carry a 90-day supply of medications across the border from Canada, but U.S. law still prohibits their importation by mail. U.S. consumers have turned to Canada for brand-name drugs because they can be 30 to 80 percent cheaper than U.S. prices.

The price advantage of Canadian drugs spawned a cottage industry in the Tampa Bay area, with more than a half-dozen storefronts offering to help consumers order from pharmacies north of the border. All but a few of those ventures are now closed, however, following the interference of U.S. Customs agents as well as the benefits of Medicare's new drug program.

Janelle Quinn, owner of Canadian Drug Co. in St. Petersburg, said that although her business has remained steady over the past year, the disruption from law enforcement and the changes in Medicare had an effect.

"We had a pretty hellacious six weeks early last year because of the seizures," said Quinn, who credits Nelson for relieving the federal crackdown. "We also lost some customers to Medicare, but they came back in July and August when they reached the doughnut hole," a reference to the gap in coverage in the Medicare plan.

Shelley Kauzlaric, owner of Dunedin Meds of Canada, said her business dropped dramatically because of Medicare's drug offering, but she also is seeing some rebound as benefits are exhausted. And while seizures of her customers' prescriptions seemed to increase a bit in August, she doesn't think they discouraged people from placing orders.

"The bottom line is, if they're saving enough money ordering from Canada, seizures don't matter," said Kauzlaric, who said her Canadian pharmacy simply resends the drugs at no additional charge. "It just irritates people against the government," she said.

And though Kauzlaric is hopeful about relief from Customs' interceptions, she took note of the timing of the agency's decision so close to the fall elections.

"Is it a political move that will last six weeks, then it will be business as usual?" she asked. "It's hard to say."

Kris Hundley can be reached at hundley@sptimes.com or (727) 892-2996.

[Last modified October 3, 2006, 23:37:11]