The Food and Drug Administration in October sent criminal investigation agents to nine locations across Central Florida that help customers order discount drugs from Canadian pharmacies and other foreign locations, according to a Kaiser Health News report.
The agents informed store proprietors that importing drugs from foreign nations is illegal and said individuals that help administer such medicines could face fines or jail time. While the stores remain open, some owners are concerned the government has reversed a longstanding non-enforcement policy over the stores' operations, according to KHN.
"We've been doing this for 15 years, and we are not hiding anything … We are not in the shadows," Bill Hepscher, co-owner of six Canadian MedStore locations in the Tampa Bay and Orlando area, told KHN. Mr. Hepscher said he's unsure what prompted the FDA action. Agents armed with search warrants appeared to make copies of electronic files and take costumers' paper files and the stores' financial records during the raid, according to Mr. Hepscher.
FDA spokeswoman Lyndsay Meyer would not confirm or deny whether an investigation into the storefronts was underway.
"The FDA is concerned about the safety risks associated with the importation of unapproved prescription drugs from foreign countries," Ms. Meyer told KHN. "Drug products that come from unknown or foreign sources may be unregulated or subject to less oversight than U.S. requirements. These unknowns put patients' health at risk."
The storefronts, which do not house the drugs, primarily serve seniors who seek in-person assistance when buying foreign medicines online. Mr. Hepscher said his stores serve about 10,000 customers annually.
To read the full Kaiser Health News report, click here.
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