Governors push for testing of Mexican prescriptions

PUERTO PEÑASCO, Mexico - Border governors agreed Friday to do more to ensure that the prescription drugs purchased by U.S. residents in Mexico are safe and effective.

In their joint statement at the end of the two-day meeting here, the governors said the increasing price of medications in the United States has resulted in more people deciding to shop elsewhere. At the very least, they said, bilingual materials should be developed to educate consumers and inform them about purchasing drugs in another country.

But they concluded that education alone is not enough: The governors want states and others to actually conduct tests of the medications that are most often bought by U.S. consumers.

Nothing in the plan would bar patients from continuing to purchase drugs even if the testing shows they may not be exactly as promoted. But the test results would be publicized.

On a more proactive level, the governors want the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to let border states establish their own safety and quality standards for manufacturers and pharmacies.

The idea is to create a pilot project which, if it proves successful, would make it even easier for U.S. residents to import drugs from Mexico - at least those drugs from those pharmacies that are certified as meeting the standards.

Governors also were concerned about illegal drugs being brought into this country. But what they can do about it on their own may be more limited.

The joint statement urges their respective federal governments to do more to halt not only the flow of methamphetamines across the border but also pseudoephedrine. That otherwise legal decongestant is the key ingredient in the manufacture of meth.

Gov. Janet Napolitano said that limits imposed by Mexico on importation of pseudoephedrine has resulted in the decongestant being imported from other countries into the United States and then being smuggled into Mexico for conversion into meth.

The governors want their federal counterparts to spend more time and resources on the states which have the highest importation of not only meth but the precursor chemicals.