NABP Exposes Fake Candian Online Pharmacies

Implications: The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) named 79 online pharmacies that are not safe for patients. Rather than a general “watch out” message, the NABP actually listed the web addresses for these rogue sources.  Many sites falsely claim to be “Canadian” pharmacies.  This was an important step, but much work remains to convince consumers about the dangers of online pharmacies.  Presidential candidate John McCain is also supports importation, but NABP’s warning should make him reconsider.

Analysis:

According to NABP, an online pharmacy got on their “not recommended” list for one of the following three illegal activities:

• Does not require a valid prescription (71 sites)
• Foreign or non-FDA-approved drugs (35 sites)
• A physical address outside of the US (36 sites)

NABP has accredited 15 legitimate online pharmacies though the Verified Internet Pharmacy Practice Sites™ (VIPPS^®) program, in contrast to the 79 non-recommended sites. (NABP doesn’t seem to allow direct links. Go to NABP and click “Internet Pharmacies” to find the list.)

Fans of buying “Canadian” drugs should take note: Twenty-two of the sites on the NABP list have “Canada” in the company name, which is consistent with the FDA’s 2005 findings that many ‘Canadian’ drugs are really from other countries.

As I noted in John McCain Bashes Pharma (Council Site), Presidential Candidate John McCain supports “Canadian” importation.  Last November, he said: “These are drugs being reimported. They go to Canada and then they can come back in. It's a strawman to say that a country like Canada could not be responsible for safe drugs to be brought into our country.” 

Unfortunately, organized criminals, drug traffickers and terrorists could (and probably do) exploit gaps in our drug distribution system. Senator McCain should be much more cautious about his support for importation. I wish it were only fear-mongering and scare tactics, but the risks are real.