Bill would allow out-of-state pharma shipments
Legislators are considering a bill to reopen the door to international mail-order pharmaceutical providers who were prohibited from selling in Maine after a decision from former Attorney General William Schneider late last year.
The Portland Press Herald reported that the Legislature's labor committee met Wednesday to hear testimony on LD 449, proposed by Sen. Douglas Thomas, R-Ripley, that would restore the ability of international pharmacies to sell to Maine customers.
It would do so by changing the definition of "practicing pharmacy," specifying that a licensed mail-order pharmacy dispensing drugs for personal use does not constitute a practicing pharmacy.
At issue in the bill are contracts between Maine government entities and companies, and the Canadian drug distributor, CanaRx. The city of Portland and the Guilford-based Hardwood Products Co. are among those that previously bought drugs from CanaRx and said the contracts saved millions over domestically purchased pharmaceuticals.
Maine pharmacists told the committee the safety of the international products poses a risk and that state pharmacies are at a competitive disadvantage with international brokers who they said are unregulated.
CanaRx has argued its drugs come from countries with more stringent drug standards than the United States.
Gov. Paul LePage and the Maine State Employees Association have also expressed their support for reversing Schneider's decision and allowing mail-order pharmacies to continue to provide drugs to Maine patients.
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