The Trump Administration has officially proposed legalizing the importation of drugs from Canada, a policy that’s been the focus of intense debate for over three decades.
For over 16 years, the Institute for Policy Innovation has released numerous publications warning the risks of such a scheme cannot be overstated—foremost the public health danger, since it is impossible for the U.S. to guarantee the safety of imported drugs.
The following is a history of IPI’s research into the question of whether the U.S. should open its drug market to imported pharmaceuticals.
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Merrill Matthews. “Vermont’s Prescription for Failure.” IPI PolicyBytes. Institute for Policy Innovation. 22 May 2018. https://www.ipi.org/ipi_issues/detail/vermonts-prescription-for-failure.
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Tom Giovanetti. “Importation of Prescription Drugs: A Bad Idea.” IPI Roundtable. Institute for Policy Innovation. 9 Jan. 2017. https://www.ipi.org/policy_blog/detail/importation-of-prescription-drugs-a-bad-idea.
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Merrill Matthews. “Prescription Drug Importation: Unsafe, Unnecessary and Unwise.” IPI Ideas. Institute for Policy Innovation. 5 June 2017. https://www.ipi.org/ipi_issues/detail/prescription-drug-importation-unsafe-unnecessary-and-unwise.
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Merrill Matthews. “We Can Eliminate Counterfeit Drugs in the U.S. Supply Chain.” IPI PolicyBytes. Institute for Policy Innovation. 5 June 2012. https://www.ipi.org/ipi_issues/detail/we-can-eliminate-counterfeit-drugs-in-the-us-supply-chain.
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Merrill Matthews. “Fake Drugs and False Pride: Congress and Prescription Drug Importation.” IPI Techbytes. Institute for Policy Innovation. 1 Feb. 2007. https://www.ipi.org/ipi_issues/detail/fake-drugs-and-false-pride-congress-and-prescription-drug-importation.
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Merrill Matthews, Peter Pitts. “2006 State Legislators Desktop Reference to Prescription Drug Policy.” IPI Policy Guide. Institute for Policy Innovation. 23 March 2006. https://www.ipi.org/ipi_issues/detail/2006-state-legislators-desktop-reference-to-prescription-drug-policy.
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Douglas Giuffre. “Drug Importation and R&D Spending: The Economic Impact on Washington’s Economy.” IPI Issue Brief. Institute for Policy Innovation. 17 June 2005. https://www.ipi.org/ipi_issues/detail/drug-importation-and-r-d-spending-the-economic-impact-on-washingtons-economy.
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Douglas Giuffre. “Drug Importation and R&D Spending: The Economic Impact on Maryland’s Economy.” IPI Issue Brief. Institute for Policy Innovation. 11 March 2005. https://www.ipi.org/ipi_issues/detail/drug-importation-and-rd-spending-the-economic-impact-on-marylands-economy.
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David Tuerck, John Barrett, Douglas Giuffre, Zaur Rzakhanov. “The Impact of Drug Reimportation and Price Controls: The U.S. and Massachusetts.” IPI Issue Brief. Institute for Policy Innovation. 22 Sept. 2004. https://www.ipi.org/ipi_issues/detail/the-impact-of-drug-reimportation-and-price-controls-the-us-and-massachusetts.
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Jacob Arfwedson. “Parallel Trade in Pharmaceuticals.” IPI Policy Report. Institute for Policy Innovation. 15 Jul 2004. https://www.ipi.org/ipi_issues/detail/parallel-trade-in-pharmaceuticals.
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Doug Bandow. “The Free Market Mirage of Reimportation.” IPI Issue Brief. Institute for Policy Innovation. 8 Jul 2004. https://www.ipi.org/ipi_issues/detail/the-free-market-mirage-of-reimportation.
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Merrill Matthews. “A Legislators and Consumers Guide to Prescription Drug Importation.” IPI Policy Guide. Institute for Policy Innovation. 6 Jan. 2004. https://www.ipi.org/ipi_issues/detail/a-legislators-and-consumers-guide-to-prescription-drug-importation.
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Richard Epstein. “Parallel Importation as a Perversion of Free Trade.” IPI Ideas. Institute for Policy Innovation. 9 Jul 2003. https://www.ipi.org/ipi_issues/detail/parallel-importation-as-a-perversion-of-free-trade.
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Merrill Matthews. “Five Reasons to Oppose Reimportation.” IPI Ideas. Institute for Policy Innovation. 30 June 2003. https://www.ipi.org/ipi_issues/detail/five-reasons-to-oppose-reimportation.