Originally Posted By Mr X <a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/sarah-palin-sees-eye-to-eye-with-albertans-in-calgary-speech/article1492634" target="_blank">http://www.theglobeandmail.com...e1492634</a> ***Sarah Palin drew a straight line from Alaska to Alberta as she told a sold-out, largely adoring crowd in Calgary that the province gets her message of less government, lower taxes and development of natural resources.*** ***The vocal opponent of health-care reform in the U.S. steered largely clear of the topic except to reveal a tidbit about her life growing up not far from Whitehorse. “We used to hustle over the border for health care we received in Canada,” she said. “And I think now, isn't that ironic?”*** Um... Wow. This is right up there on the hypocrisy meter with that closeted (not any more though) gay Republican with a 100% anti-gay voting record! How can these people even take themselves seriously (and what kind of idiots follow them and support them!?)????
Originally Posted By mele Good question. I have no answer. It's amazing, isn't it? The whole situation falls so much under the "truthiness" concept that it makes me gag.
Originally Posted By Sport Goofy What's ironic is that Sarah Palin is so stupid that she doesn't even realize what a statement like that means in the context of the current health care debate.
Originally Posted By pecos bill Behold the simplest form of IQ test. You support Palin, you fail. I am consistently bewildered that this woman has achieved the status that she has.
Originally Posted By Mr X Right Wingers are trying to imply that it's "ironic" because Canadian health care was good back then but now it's Canadians who are coming to America for care. Interestingly, it seems she was addressing a hard core right wing CANADIAN group who support scrapping their health care system in favor of something more American. Um...okay.
Originally Posted By mele Hm, I live near Canada and busloads of people go up to Canada to buy drugs because they save so much more. (Although, this may have changed in the past year or two. I'm not sure. I'm lucky/blessed enough to have insurance.)
Originally Posted By Mr X What happens if they catch you at the border trying to smuggle the drugs back in?
Originally Posted By mele No idea. I think this happens all along the Canadian border. The drugs aren't illegal...just cheaper. Although, I do know people who buy Tylenol 3 (called something different) OTC and bring it back with them. Can you imagine busting a bunch of grannies for buying their heart meds at a cheaper rate? Yikes.
Originally Posted By SuperDry My understanding is that you are able to personally import prescription drugs for your own personal use without regard to whether they are the US-approved versions or otherwise would be eligible for sale in the US. What you can't do is import prescription drugs for resale, or have them sent to you in the mail from outside the US. But as long as you personally travel to another country, purchase the drugs, and bring them back with you on your person (or in your accompanied luggage), then it's legal to do so. So, there's no risk to grannies traveling by bus to Canada to buy their meds at a discount.
Originally Posted By CuriouserConstance Except by the seedy characters they would encounter on the buses, scary!
Originally Posted By Mr X Rather ridiculous that the law would forbid you to receive them via mail order if it's perfectly legal to purchase them in person!
Originally Posted By mele There are bus tours specifically for going to Canada to buy drugs. It's not just a group of old people breaking out of the rest home and jumping on Greyhound buses. It would make a really crappy movie for adults (and kids), though! Granny breaks out of rest home, goes to bus station, rides to Canada to buy drugs, gets busted and meets lots of wacky characters along the way! ;-)
Originally Posted By CuriouserConstance ""There are bus tours specifically for going to Canada to buy drugs."" Oh that's a relief I can't even drive past the local greyhound station without locking the care doors.
Originally Posted By mele I read that as "licking the car doors". Ew. LOL! Oh yeah, my brain is officially ready for bed.
Originally Posted By Labuda " Although, I do know people who buy Tylenol 3 (called something different) OTC and bring it back with them." That's Tylenol with codeine, right? If so, wow - takes balls to buy a narcotic OTC and then try to bring it over US borders.
Originally Posted By dsnykid In Canada, at least in Alberta, Tylenol 3 requires a prescription to purchase. You can not buy it OTC. however the prescription isn't that hard to get once or twice. I used to get it for migraines, but I had to keep a journal stating each time I used the medication and if they felt I was abusing it I would be cut off.
Originally Posted By CuriouserConstance Yeah I lick the car doors everytime I go by the bus station, just one of those things I tend to do
Originally Posted By skinnerbox <<What you can't do is import prescription drugs for resale, or have them sent to you in the mail from outside the US.>> Yet people do it all the time. Less than 10% of packages are held at the border for inspection, so the chances of not receiving your drugs are very slim. And even if your package is intercepted, as long as you have a valid prescription for the drug, you won't be charged for drug importation. All you stand to lose is your shipment. I purchased a prescription anti-viral a few years ago from Canada. Mailed the prescription to the pharmacy, but placed my order and refills online. Took about a week to get the drugs in the mail. And I saved thousands by doing this. In this country, the cheapest price I could find for one bottle was about $2100. Through the Canadian online drug store, the price was $1550 per bottle. BIG difference! Speaking of being ironic... the drug is actually manufactured in Canada. So buying it here means exactly the same as buying it from Canada and having it shipped directly to me. The drug and bottle are identical; only the label and outer package are different (English and French instead of English only). What's the argument again against reimportation of drugs from outside the US? Something about safety? Even when the drug is manufactured in the country you're buying it from? Safety my butt.
Originally Posted By Dabob2 Exactly. It's all about price. The pharma industry pushed that law through. I know I've related this story before, but one of my farmer uncles had colon cancer. He farms crops, but he has a friend who's a sheep farmer. My uncle was on a very expensive cancer drug. His friend told him that he happened to know this drug was originally designed as a sheep wormer. By accident they discovered it worked as an anti-colon cancer medicine. (Kind of like they discovered Rogaine grew hair by accident, after it developed for blood pressure.) Same drug. No "we need to charge so much because of the R&D we do" line will work here. It was already developed as a sheep wormer. And it was available as a sheep wormer for - get this - 1/100th of the cost. Same stuff. 1/100th the price. Needless to say, my uncle bought it from his friend the sheep farmer. And beat his cancer, too. But once the drug co. discovered it could be used for colon cancer, they jacked the price up ONE HUNDRED TIMES and sold it that way. Didn't change a single thing about it, either.
