Hurray for Canadian Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh, who, under tremendous political pressure to continue a charade, instead told the truth about the cross-border drug trade and the dangers that it poses to both Americans and Canadians.

"I want to make sure that we don't have ... 250 million Americans buying drugs in Canada," Dosanjh said in an interview Dec. 12 on a CTV television show in Canada. "We cannot be the drugstore for the United States."

Indeed. The minister clearly sees that as the Internet pharmacy cowboys soak up the Canadian drug supply for their own profit, domestic Canadian pharmacists are reporting more and more shortages. What's more, our neighbors to the north are becoming evermore dependent on medicines from nations outside their regulatory purview -- drugs that may be subpotent, superpotent, expired, or just plain counterfeit.

Dosanjh recognizes the danger to the public health of Canada, and his government is preparing to take action. Any American who wants a prescription from a Canadian pharmacy might soon be required to first visit with a physician in Canada. Since all out-of-country prescriptions currently must be co-signed by a Canadian doctor, that policy change would end importation as we know it. It also would save Canada from both drug shortages and the current influx of drugs from countries such as Singapore, Ecuador, China, Iran, Argentina, South Africa and Thailand.

Strange that Canada is realizing this before the United States. I ask of those who still would shrilly call for "importing drugs:" The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is faced with enough challenges policing drug safety at home; do we really want them to stretch their resources even further and become responsible for drug safety globally?

Stay out of the 'buyer beware' zone
According to the recent report issued under the signature of U.S. Surgeon General Adm. Richard Carmona, opening up our borders to drugs from Canada would result in an uncontrollable influx of untested, impure, expired and counterfeit drugs from around the world.

When U.S. citizens go outside of our regulatory system and enter into a "buyer beware" gray zone, they unwittingly assist those who put profits before patient health and, by the way, shine a bright light on a path that can (and, indeed, is) used not only by profiteers masquerading as pharmacists, but by outright criminals who do not pause before actively feeding counterfeit drugs into the marketplace.

The evidence of safety problems never has been clearer. After examining all of the facts carefully, a federal judge recently concluded that importation of unapproved drugs by poorly regulated Internet companies and untrained storefront operators is unsafe and illegal.

Many of these Canadian drug imports are unapproved in the United States, are improperly stored and labeled, and come to patients in the wrong dosages. The judge concluded that unapproved foreign drugs "do not have the same assurance of safety and efficacy ... less predictable quality," and this "dangerous" practice is an "illegal activity determined by Congress to harm the public interest."

Use 'safe savings' options
Those who support unregulated importation are endangering the lives of America's seniors. Recently an 82-year-old man suffering from epilepsy and an enlarged prostate purchased what he was led to believe were FDA-approved drugs from a Web site purportedly representing a Canadian pharmacy.

Upon receipt, he discovered they were from India. He called the FDA, and the agency determined that not only were the drugs not from Canada as purported, they were not even approved for use in this country.

"Buyer beware" is bad health care practice and even worse health care policy. And thanks to the pending actions of the Canadian government, "Canada Only" importation may soon be a moot issue. Maddeningly, some people responded by calling for importation from an ever-expanding set of countries, including Europe. Do you really want Portuguese or Greek drugs mixed into your medicine supply?

It's time to remember the "safe savings" options within our own borders. For example, simply shopping around for the best price on your medication can mean big savings. Not all pharmacies charge the same price for their drugs. Also, when available, generics are a good alternative to brand-name medicines; simply ask your doctor if there is a generic alternative to your current medications. Believe it or not, American generics actually are cheaper than Canadian generics.

In addition, there are many programs established to help with drug costs.

The Medicare drug discount card, available to all Medicare participants, has been saving beneficiaries 10 percent to 75 percent and sometimes more off their drug prices for more than six months.

A $600 subsidy is available for those who need it most through the discount card program, and that credit is directly applied to drug costs at the cash register. For more information on Medicare drug discount cards, call (800) MEDICARE or visit www.medicare.gov.

In addition to federal programs, there are a number of options provided by private companies that help to reduce or eliminate drug costs all together. To explore these options, visit www.helpingpatients.org or call (800) 762-4636.

The American public deserves solid solutions
Opening the floodgates to unapproved imported drugs will cause more problems than it solves. Medical, pharmacy, patient advocacy and other health professional organizations consistently oppose it.

The American public deserves better solutions than "buyer beware" when it comes to purchasing their medicines. They deserve drugs that are affordable, and are proven to be safe and effective. With so many secure alternatives, drug importation just isn't worth it.

Just because a politician or a pundit says imported drugs are safe doesn't make them so. As "Canada Only" importation is being made inoperative by the Canadian government, it's time to start promoting the many workable solutions rather than the chimera of importation.

According to Mark Twain, "For every complex problem there is usually a simple solution. And it's usually wrong." Drug importation is exactly that: a simple solution that's simply wrong.

And thank you, Minister Dosanjh, for having the courage to point out that it's dangerous to the public health of two of the world's greatest nations.