The Homeland Security policy responsible for 11 months of seizures and confiscations of Canadian drug packages by U.S. Customs was obviously intended to intimidate American consumers and suspiciously timed to coincide with the enrollment period of the new Medicare Part D drug program for seniors. After doing the bidding for its generous campaign contributors in the pharmaceutical industry, Congressional Republicans have relented to public pressure and reversed the seizure policy just one month before mid-term elections.

A Customs and Border Protection official stated that “we have decided to focus our resources differently,” indicative of a contrite admission by policymakers that prescription drugs from licensed and legitimate online Canadian pharmacies like ADV-Care (www.ADV-Care.com) pose no threat to American patients. The politically motivated decision came just two weeks after a deal was struck by Republican leadership to prohibit seizures of drugs carried back by Americans after visiting Canada.

“Seizing life-saving medications from legitimate Canadian pharmacies is a dangerous practice that obviously does more harm than good. Politicians are putting American patients at unnecessary risk just to protect drug company profits,” says Ramy Attalla, Director of Communications at Adv-Care Pharmacy (www.ADV-Care.com or www.PharmacyOnTheNet.com) “The reversal of this absurd policy is welcome relief but also demonstrates that the seizures were politically motivated and not relevant to actually protecting Americans from unsafe products.”

Attalla also pointed out that ADV-Care operates domestic pharmacies that dispense medications to Canadians and that the prescriptions mailed to American patients draw from the same inventory of regulated drugs approved by Health Canada, the Canadian equivalent of the US Food and Drug Administration.

“Canadian medications are the very same products, made by the same manufacturer as their American counterparts. For the pharmaceutical industry to suggest they are sub-standard or compromised is like shooting themselves in the foot,” adds David MacKay, former executive director of the Canadian International Pharmacy Association (CIPA). “The drug companies never cry foul over domestic mail-order programs so why should a drug mailed from Canada be any less safe?”

“Canada is not experiencing an issue with counterfeit drugs – that spectre is purely a fabrication by the drug companies and their well-financed affiliates.”

American consumers can avoid potentially bogus suppliers and ensure they are ordering from a legitimate Canadian pharmacy by regarding a few common sense steps:

1. Locate a provincial pharmacy license number on the pharmacy website
2. Contact the provincial licensing authority to verify the pharmacy license (see www.napra.org)
3. Locate a physical address in Canada and a toll free phone number on the pharmacy website
4. Verify that the pharmacy requires a valid prescription, medical history and allergy profile
5. Verify that medications are dispensed by licensed Canadian pharmacists

The inherent safety of mail-order importation of medications is apparent enough that it has been once again endorsed by the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) in a new $500,000 advertising campaign that was recently rolled out by the organization.

ADV-Care Pharmacy (www.ADV-Care.com or www.PharmacyOnTheNet.com) is licensed by the Ontario College of Pharmacists (Accreditation # 38132) and has been safely dispensing medications to Canadian & U.S. residents for six years. All Canadian medications are Health Canada approved and are dispensed by licensed pharmacists.

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