When is "Illegal" not Illegal?

  • by: |
  • 01/23/2006

Caremark, one of the nation’s largest pharmaceutical mail-order companies agreed to pay $500,000 to settle a state regulatory investigation into its practice of restocking unopened prescription drugs, Illinois officials confirmed Friday.

The developments come more than a year after Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s office had launched an investigation into whether Caremark routinely and illegally sold drugs that had been returned by other customers. That investigation is ongoing, sources close to the investigation said.

Illinois officials have said reselling prescription drugs is allowed under very limited circumstances, typically when the drugs have not left the supervision of trained medical staffers, because the products may be tampered with or damaged.

So here’s the question: Why is it illegal when Caremark does it, but not illegal when the same dangerous behavior is pro forma with the foreign Internet pharmacies so beloved by Illinois Governor “Wrong Way” Rod Blagojevich?

When is illegal not illegal? Unfortunately, it seems that the answer is “when it’s covenient.”

CMPI

Center for Medicine in the Public Interest is a nonprofit, non-partisan organization promoting innovative solutions that advance medical progress, reduce health disparities, extend life and make health care more affordable, preventive and patient-centered. CMPI also provides the public, policymakers and the media a reliable source of independent scientific analysis on issues ranging from personalized medicine, food and drug safety, health care reform and comparative effectiveness.

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