What makes the Canadian drug wholesale system inherently safer than the U.S. system?
Canadian wholesalers are federally licensed and there are far fewer of them in Canada than the U.S., where wholesalers are State licensed. There are only about 15 major Canadian wholesalers compared to several hundred in the U.S. Most importantly, Canadian wholesalers do not engage in the practice of re-packaging, re-labeling and re-mixing drugs as do many of their U.S. counterparts. In almost all cases the Canadian wholesalers obtain product in the original manufacturer’s container, which includes tamper evident seals, and simply passes this container on to the retail pharmacy for distribution to the American patient. This is a major safety feature of the Canadian mail-order system. With fewer wholesalers and fewer points of distribution, combined with sealed containers, the Canadian wholesale network offers virtually no opportunity to introduce counterfeit, tainted or diluted medications.
