Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich (D) is among a growing chorus of leaders who recognize that consumers and government entities could save a bundle of money by importing prescription drugs from Canada. Blagojevich has released an analysis that shows his state could save $91 million a year by purchasing prescription medications north of the border. According to the Congressional Budget Office, legalizing the importation of drugs from Canada and Europe could cut drug spending $40 billion over the next decade, including $4.5 billion in savings for the federal government. The only question is, to what lengths will the Bush administration – backed by contributors from the pharmaceutical industry – go to deny health and cost-saving benefits to those who rely on prescription medication?

In July 2003, the United States Congress passed legislation that would allow imports of FDA-approved drugs from FDA-inspected plants in Canada and 25 major industrialized nations. The Senate had previously passed similar legislation by a lopsided margin, although the Bush administration would have had to first agree that imported drugs posed no risk to public health. Most concede that the administration is unlikely to ever make such a finding. We urge the Senate to pursue free-standing drug import legislation that does not depend upon the Bush administration’s arbitrary standards.

G.O.P. hardliners such as Thad Cochran (R-MS) and Bill Frist (R-TN) claim that unsafe and adulterated drugs could be shipped from other countries through Canada. According to Frist, such risks are particularly serious “in this age of bioterrorism.”

But G.O.P. and pharmaceutical industry scare tactics against imported drugs do not survive objective scrutiny. Canada, in particular, maintains statutory requirements for approving and marketing pharmaceuticals that are similar to those of the United States. The Congressional Research Service has reported that Canada’s rules and procedures to control the “chain of custody” of prescription drugs from factory to pharmacy are essentially the same as those in the United States. Further, many of the most common prescription drugs sold in America already originate from outside of the United States in FDA-inspected plants. These drugs include Lipitor, a cholesterol-lowering medicine, made in Ireland; Nexium, the purple indigestion pill, manufactured in Sweden; and Prevacid, an ulcer medication, produced in Japan. States such as Illinois and Minnesota, which plan to offer incentives like waiving insurance co-payments for state employees who purchase prescription medications from Canada, could easily enhance safety by issuing “stamps of approval” for Canadian plants and pharmacies that meet rigorous safety standards.

Lowering the price of prescription drugs for consumers would be a godsend to the sick and elderly, whose shrinking government benefits have made it increasingly difficult to afford the drugs they need to survive. Now that Blagojevich and other leaders are demonstrating that government entities can also save a bundle of money, there is no principled reason why the federal import standards should not be relaxed. This is an issue that Democrats and reasonable Republicans must pursue vigorously and without delay. Even the Bush administration and the powerful pharmaceutical lobby will be forced to yield if enough Americans understand the potential befits of legalized prescription drug importation.