Dayton: FDA Should Stop Harassing Americans for Buying the Drugs They Need

Senator urges agency to lighten up on enforcement against purchasing prescription drugs in Canada.

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Mark Dayton yesterday joined five of his colleagues in sending a letter to U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Mark McClellan. The letter is a response to the escalation in the agency's enforcement actions against Americans seeking to purchase more affordable prescription drugs from Canada. Dayton strongly supports allowing Americans to purchase safe prescription drugs from outside the United States until the same drugs are made more affordable at home.

"I suggest the FDA's resources would be best used in shutting down fraudulent pharmaceutical distribution operations rather than selectively targeting elderly ladies crossing the border to buy medicine that they cannot live without," said Dayton. "I will continue to donate my yearly Senate salary to the Minnesota Senior Federation so that they have the resources to transport seniors to Canada every month to buy the drugs they cannot afford to buy in the United States."

"It is time that Congress stood up to the pharmaceutical bullies. Congress should stop punishing Americans for traveling out of the country to get the drugs they need," said Dayton. "The drug companies are determined to force Americans to pay prices four to five times higher than consumers in Canada pay. Some seniors just cannot afford to do that."

Dayton joined with Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Russell Feingold (D-WI), Carl Levin (D-MI), and Jim Jeffords (I-VT) in authoring the letter to the FDA Commissioner.