Maine legalizes importation of prescription drugs by individuals

Maine has become first state to legally sanction its residents to directly import prescription drugs from foreign countries.

The measure, which went into effect today, was approved earlier this year by the state legislature. It facilitates the “licensing of international mail-order prescription pharmacies by the Maine Board of Pharmacy.” But it has also triggered a legal challenge by pharmacists and trade groups.

The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America and several other trade groups have already filed a complaint and motion for preliminary injunction in the U.S. District Court, District of Maine, seeking to stop implementation of the law.

According to the complaint: “This attempt to circumvent federal law is no accident: Maine’s Importation Law was enacted with the avowed purpose of opening the state’s borders to foreign pharmacies, after previous iterations of drug importation programs operating in the state ended in the wake of the state Attorney General’s declaration of their illegality.”

The complaint also states that prescription drugs shipped into Maine by foreign pharmacies would not be subject to federal quality and safety controls.

“The Importation Law therefore puts Maine residents at risk of serious harm,” according to the complaint.

eDrugSearch.com, a free shopping comparison engine for US consumers, calls the new law “an important step” for Maine, which can now “allow its citizens to more fully compare drug prices, thereby reducing the cost of certain prescription drugs by as much as 90 percent.” A statement on the company website also notes that then Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius established a web page to help individuals access verified online pharmacies. Sebelius is now secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, overseeing the FDA, which officially advises that “prescription drugs should only be purchased from wholesale drug distributors licensed in the United States.”

According to the National Legislative Association on Prescription Drug Prices, about 12 states have established initiatives seeking to open up trade with Canada and other countries to import medications at lower prices than are available in the United States.

“Importing lower-priced medications is an interim step towards the goal of a reformed system of prescription drug purchasing in the US, which would include government price negotiation and opening up the US market to parallel trade,” according to a statement on the association’s website.