Canada may end some drug sales

CHICAGO – Citing an increased U.S. demand that threatens to pinch Canadian drug supplies, health officials in that country are considering a plan to shut down cross-border prescription sales to Americans over the Internet and through the mail.

Such a move, on which Canadian Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh is scheduled to begin formal discussions next week, could have broad implications for efforts in the United States by Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and other politicians to leverage Canada’s price controls on drugs to the advantage of American consumers.

Aides to Dosanjh said no quick decision is expected on whether to implement the ban. But they stressed that the minister had grown worried that increased U.S. demand for Canadian pharmaceuticals could result in shortages for patients there. The aides also said Dosanjh had strong ethical concerns about allowing Internet pharmacies to continue dispensing prescriptions written by Canadian doctors for American patients they hadn’t seen.

A decision to close the border would bolster efforts by the Bush administration to stem the tide of U.S. citizens acquiring their prescriptions from Canada. An administration study submitted last month to Congress outlined safety concerns about importing drugs from another nation and also claimed the projected savings to consumers weren’t as much as import advocates claim.