Miami Herald - March 29, 2003
John Dorschner, jdorschner@herald.com

Most of these locations are in senior-citizen areas, but one operator, Phil Gutman, says he plans to open a storefront in South Beach, primarily to offer HIV and AIDS drugs.

Gutman, who operates Discount Drugs of Canada in Tamarac, said Friday that he wasn't cowed by a visit from a state health inspector earlier this month. The inspector warned him that having the word "drugs" in his sign was against the law.

"They said it implied I was a pharmacy," Gutman said, 'but I don't have any drugs here; I don't sell any drugs here. He said, 'OK, I'll guess you'll be hearing back from me.' So I guess we will have this whole legal battle."

The storefronts offer savings of 30 to 70 percent by using Canadian pharmacies. It's possible to order online, but many seniors don't use or trust the Internet. As word of mouth has spread about savings in Canada, storefronts have sprung up to serve these seniors' needs, faxing or e-mailing to Canada prescriptions paid for with credit cards. Customers get their drugs sent by mail directly from Canada, and the Canadian pharmacy or an intermediary pays the storefront a commission.

For months, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Florida Department of Health have said such storefronts break the law by assisting in the purchase of drugs that fall outside FDA regulation.

Both make it clear they have no desire to prosecute the storefronts' customers, and, until recently, both had been hesitant to cut off savings for desperate seniors despite demands by major pharmaceutical manufacturers and the large pharmacy chains that the business be stopped.

That hesitation appears to be dissipating. This month, the FDA sent a formal warning letter to Rx Depot in Lowell, Ark., admonishing it, in particular, for writing in its marketing materials that drugs were "FDA approved."

In Florida, meanwhile, inspectors have been visiting the storefronts. So far, though, they've taken no action.

The Department of Health's only comment is a prepared statement that says it is "investigating all complaints received on the unlicensed practice of pharmacy. While these are criminal actions, the department does work with law enforcement in developing these cases.

The department is also identifying cases where civil actions, such as cease-and-desist orders, or injunctions would be appropriate."

Meanwhile, at Aventura Mall, Canadian Prescriptions Direct has been told that its kiosk outside the food court will be kicked out within days because Aventura's legal department read a newspaper article in which authorities warned that those who help seniors get drugs from Canada could be held legally liable.

The kiosk, run by a man in a white, doctorlike smock, has order forms and a computer to show how the drugs are ordered. Peter Stein, whose firm 1-800-RxQUOTE owns the kiosk, said on Friday that he will not give up.

"This was obviously a risk that the mall wasn't willing to take," Stein said, "but we're willing to take it. This is important for helping people."

Indeed, many in the Canadian-storefront business feel they are on a mission.

Shelley Kurzweil said she started a Discount Drugs of Canada store in Pembroke Pines after learning that her 82-year-old father, a Holocaust survivor, had become seriously ill after not being able to afford to take his medications daily.

Kurzweil offers Merck's Zocor, a cholesterol drug, at a price of $177 for a three-month supply. The price at a local pharmacy is $339. Canadian prices are cheaper because the Canada's government controls prices there.

On Friday, James and Josephine DeSantis were in the Pembroke Pines office, asking many questions about how the program worked.

"We really need to save," James DeSantis said.

While many seniors say they're satisfied with the Canadian pharmacies, the long-distance connection has glitches. On Friday morning, a woman complained at the Pembroke Pines storefront that she had been waiting more than a month for her order. Kurzweil checked and found that the drugs had been shipped only two days before.

"A few times, there are problems," she said. "Sometimes a Canadian doctor will red-flag a prescription because of some concern, and that can lead to delays. But once the first order goes through, refills are always fast."

Discount Drugs of Canada is a group started by Earle Turow of Delray Beach. More than 20 storefronts have opened under the Discount Drugs banner throughout the United States, he said, and another 30 or 40 are to open within weeks. The storefront operators pay their own expenses, and Turow's headquarters sends them commissions for sales they make.

Of the government pressure, Turow said: "They're just trying to harass us. I know they have complaints from the big pharmacy companies, because they're losing a lot of money."

Turow supports H.R. 847, a bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives that would prohibit the FDA from discriminating against Canadian imports.

Jim McDonough, director of the Florida Office of Drug Control, is looking into the storefront operations and talking with the Drug Enforcement Administration about them. It's a complicated legal area, he said, adding: "I have to move with care."

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