Lillian Ridlen – LaPlace

Dear Editor,

Having read a recent news article on how the Food and Drug Administration plans to use legal means against those states that are purchasing lower cost medication from Canada, in order to assure safety to the American public.

My mind raced to a number of American made medications pulled from drug shelves after a large number of consumers had serious side effects, and too many people had died from taking these previously FDA approved medications.

A number of people are allergic to corn which can be found in enteric coated and other drugs. Also, some are allergic to the dyes used in prescription drugs.

Has the FDA required the manufactures to list all of these on the pill bottles of the drugs American consumers must take for various illnesses? No! This is not to say that imported medications should not be examined for safe use here. They should be.

The FDA is already a little too late for those who died from using American manufactured drugs to assure reasonably safe use.

All involved in drug manufacturing here in the USA, including the politicians whose campaign coffers weigh heavily on funds from the drug industry seem to take the same attitude when the consumers complain the price of many drugs are so unreasonably high, they cannot afford to buy what they doctors are prescribing for them.

While it is overburdening the budgets of states in trying to provide drug coverage to the indigent and lower income Medicaid patients and the Medicare Program.

Ho Hum! Just ignore what is running states and citizens across borders to get their medications at affordable levels, as if the problem will just resolve itself. While many Americans are dying not able to purchase these high cost drugs for serious or multiple health problems all, one must ask himself how safe are American made drugs and how safe are those who cannot afford to buy them here?

The FDA needs to renew what safe use really means, and force the reduction of side effects in drugs sold to American consumers. Also, to force labeling of inert ingredients to make drugs more reasonably safe to take.

The U.S. drug companies need to sell drugs to Americans at more affordable cost or lose business to Canada and other countries who are willing to sell to Americans at prices they can afford.

Simply put!

Lillian Ridlen

LaPlace