Jack Kingston: “I believe the last vote we had on this was July 10, 2000, which was, well, 2 years ago today, but at that point out of…”

“I believe the last vote we had on this was July 10, 2000, which was, well, 2 years ago today, but at that point out of 435 Members, 363 voted in favor of drug reimportation. And, again, that was July 10, 2000. To make sure folks understand, we are talking about drugs that have strict FDA oversight, proof of FDA approval of imported medicine. There must be a paper chain of custody so people know that they are not counterfeit drugs. We are also stating that only licensed pharmacists and wholesalers can import medicines for resale, not just somebody who decides to open up a shop somewhere. Importers would have to meet requirements for handling as strict as those already in place for existing manufacturers, and a registration of Canadian pharmacies and wholesalers who would be selling or exporting to America would need to be registered with Health and Human Services. And we would need to have lab testing to screen out counterfeits. And counterfeit drugs can happen under the current market. This does not change the threat of counterfeit drugs.”