Iowa Pharmacy Board Gets Tough with Canadian Outlet
by John Drury
As I write this column, a very interesting case is being heard in a Cerro Gordo County court room. Perhaps you’ve read about it already, if not, here’s the deal.
Back in June of 2004, Scot and Cheryl Huff of Mason City opened the doors on a business called Canadian Drug Outlet. Here’s how it works: customers receive their prescriptions from their doctors, then bring them to the Canadian Drug Outlet where the drugs are then ordered from Canadian pharmacies over the Internet. The pharmacies then ship the drug directly to the customers’ homes. The pharmacies pay the Huffs a commission on orders received. It seems perfect for those senior citizens, and anyone else that may not be all that comfortable using the Internet, to be able to get their prescriptions filled without taking out a second mortgage on their homes just to pay the exorbitant costs in the United States.
A couple of months after opening the store, the Huffs were informed by the state that they could not legally use the word drug in the name of their store. They were also informed that the Iowa Board of Pharmacy feels that they are violating state law by dispensing prescription drugs without a license. They were also directed to close the business, stating that there have been two other attempts to do this in the state and they have both closed their doors after receiving a warning from the state. The Huffs did remove the word drug from the name of their business but are still in operation. They have attracted about 500 customers since opening the doors back in June and they plan on expanding depending on the outcome of the court case.
The Huffs argue that they aren’t actually dispensing prescription drugs, only helping people gain access to affordable medicine. They don’t claim to be pharmacists. The drugs are shipped directly to the customers’ homes from the pharmacy offering a savings of anywhere from 25 to 85 percent on the same drug sold in the United States.
The state disagrees. The state code defines a pharmacy as “ a location where prescription drugs are compounded, dispensed, or sold by a pharmacist and where prescription drug orders are received or processed in accordance with the pharmacy laws.” The state argues that this business does enough of those things to make it a pharmacy.
This court case is so much bigger than whether or not the Huffs get to keep the doors open on their business. It’s obviously part of a larger national debate that is taking place in our country. Federal law prevents individuals from ordering drugs from Canada but they don’t prosecute individual citizens from buying their own medicines.
In this case, we don’t see our government concerned with the fact that people are breaking laws and ordering their medicines from Canada from the privacy of their own homes, instead we see them concerned that perhaps the practice is becoming all too common and convenient for people.
Obviously, the administrators of the state pharmacy board jump on the fear bandwagon and tell you that they are only concerned with the safety of the drugs being shipped to the customer.
I would say that the Canadian Outlet offers a very important service. They offer safe, affordable prescription drugs conveniently shipped to your home at a savings of up to 85 percent. The Huffs have made it easier for citizens to obtain affordable drugs that are prescribed to them.
Perhaps our government is just suffering from professional jealousy.
I’ll keep you posted on the outcome of the case.
