Nevada approves Canadian pharmacies

The US State of Nevada's Board of Pharmacy has voted unanimously to allow residents to order pre-approved prescription drugs from Canadian pharmacies. The vote approves regulations setting out the conditions under which Canadian pharmacies would be authorized to supply prescription drugs (Marketletters passim).

The Board of Pharmacy, subject to the regulations being approved by a state legislative committee on May 4, will approve the pharmacies, as well as monitor their activities by carrying out undercover purchases. Four outlets would alreadypass approval to dispense drugs to Nevadans.

Among the restrictions on drug dispensing: no liquid, injectable or intravenous drugs will be allowed, neither will any that require refrigeration or other special han-dling in the mail. The drugs also have to be in the Orange Book (the US Food and Drug Administration approved drugs list) and manufactured to the agency's standards. The drugs also have to be approved under the Canadian authorities' approval system and drawn from an on-site inventory. These restrictions are designed to ensure that drugs sold would meet Canadian standards, unlike products that have been sold over the Internet on an estimated 11,000 unregulated web sites to US citizens.