Drug importation occurs when prescription drugs are carried or shipped in to the United States from other countries. Some people refer to this as "re-importation," because the medicine is originally American, exported overseas for distribution to patients in other countries and then returned to the United States.
Due to prescription drug price controls in some other countries, re-imported drugs actually cost less than drugs that have not left the United States. Many experts argue that drug importation is a viable option for controlling prescription costs. Others believe that importation skews pricing and may have a chilling effect on pharmaceutical research and development efforts.
Safety is a serious issue with drug importation. The Food and Drug Administration does not have the resources to guarantee the safety of imported drugs, which may be tainted or counterfeited. Patients taking these medications may be poisoned or may fall ill, because the medication they are taking lacks the active ingredients necessary to stave off disease.
