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CONCORD, N.H._Gov. Craig Benson gave his stamp of approval to a
Canadian mail-order pharmacy Monday, saying it is a safe alternative for state residents who can't afford to fill
their prescriptions in the United States.
Benson and Department of Health and Human Services Commissioner John Stephen sent two pharmacists to investigate
CanadaDrugs.com, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, last month.
They concluded the Internet company was safe, efficient and inexpensive, despite the claims of U.S. drug
manufacturers and some pharmacists that it is unsafe to import Canadian drugs, Benson said.
"Canada is not a third world country, as some in the drug industry would have us believe," he said.
"The life expectancy of those who are Canadian citizens as opposed to those who are American citizens is 2.3
years longer, so they must be doing something right in Canada."
CanadaDrugs.com was the first Canadian pharmacy accredited by IMPAC, the Internet and Mail-order Pharmacy
Accreditation Commission. It also has been endorsed by Wisconsin.
In December, Benson promised to put up a Web site within weeks directing state residents without prescription
drug insurance coverage to Canadian pharmacies deemed safe by the state.
Benson said Monday there might be legal problems using the state government Web site to do that, and said he was
still working on that issue.
Frank Lukosius, who previously owned independent pharmacies in Derry and Londonderry and now works for the Brooks
Pharmacy chain, and retired pharmacist Merton Dyer, who now works part-time for the Department of Corrections,
volunteered for the trip to Winnipeg. The state paid their air fare.
Lukosius said customers of CanadaDrugs.com are saving up to 50 percent off the U.S. prices for the identical
drugs _ and that can mean the difference between taking all the medications they are prescribed, or going
without.
"If you have to choose between going without your medications and putting food on your table, we were hoping this
would be a viable alternative," he said.
He disputed the reasoning of some U.S. pharmacists, who fear that Canadian mail-order pharmacies will put them
out of business.
"If people aren't getting their medications in the first place, it's not going to put us out of business," he
said.
The pharmacists' report said CanadaDrugs.com requires an original prescription from an American doctor and a
medical profile. Several of the staff pharmacists, including the owner, are licensed in the United States.
CanadaDrugs.com does not ship antibiotics or narcotics to the United States.
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