# Buying Prescription Drugs from Canada **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 15, 2012, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buying-prescription-drugs-from-canada/641121 "2012-11-15T19:50:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2012, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buying-prescription-drugs-from-canada/641121/1 "2012-11-15T19:50:44Z")
It turns out my work prescription plan (CVS Caremark) doesn’t cover a drug recommended by my doctor, so I plan on buying from Canada. Even the doc suggested I do this, although he refrained from giving me a lead on a provider. Does anyone have any advice in terms of a reputable source? You can imagine that it’s hard to get good answers to this using a Google search. Thanks ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2012, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buying-prescription-drugs-from-canada/641121/2 "2012-11-15T20:57:54Z")
No specific leads, but I wanted to point out that your plan may have an appeals process especially if you can document that you’ve tried alternatives and they aren’t working. The manufacturer may also have options - either for un(der) insured, or just plain coupons. I wound up switching once for insurance purposes: I was prescribed medication A, and it was working reasonably well, but it was extremely pricey without the coupon the company was offering (to encourage people to switch from B to A before med B went generic). My insurance company would have charged many times the price to keep on on med A, so I switched to med B which doesn’t work quite as well, but is acceptable. Oddly, I considered switching to my husband’s insurance this year: they cover med A but _not_ med B (despite it going generic and being a _fraction_ of the cost). ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2012, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buying-prescription-drugs-from-canada/641121/3 "2012-11-15T21:13:11Z")
Ask around, especially among your Medicare-eligible friends and family - you’d be surprised how many people have done it already. ---
**Author:** ![janeslogin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@janeslogin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janeslogin)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2012, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buying-prescription-drugs-from-canada/641121/4 "2012-11-15T23:12:04Z")
My wife is sort of groping around for a source of quinine sulfate. Some seniors tell her that there are places in Washington state near the border where people take a bus across the border and a doctor there prescribes it and a pharmacy there fills it and one takes the bus back. Naturally no one has any detailed addresses and the like. It is just something that they all know of someone who does it. But I would say seniors are a good place to start asking about anything medical. ---
**Author:** ![jharvey963](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/54ee81/32.png) [@jharvey963](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jharvey963)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2012, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buying-prescription-drugs-from-canada/641121/5 "2012-11-16T00:07:05Z")
Many years ago I dealt with The Canadian Drug Store ([www.tcds.com](http://www.tcds.com)) when I was temporarily not covered by insurance. They were reliable back then (2001?). The fact that they are still around says SOMETHING about them. Of course, check them out THOROUGHLY before ordering from them. J. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2012, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buying-prescription-drugs-from-canada/641121/6 "2012-11-16T04:46:55Z")
I’ve ordered from [canadianpharmacymeds.com](http://canadianpharmacymeds.com) 3 or 4 times in the last year. Never had any trouble with them. They required a valid prescription. It was for a run-of-the-mill gout medication no longer available in the US. It wasn’t exactly cheap, though, esp after shipping costs. ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2012, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buying-prescription-drugs-from-canada/641121/7 "2012-11-16T19:36:00Z")
Thanks everyone. I’ll look into the suggestions. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2012, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buying-prescription-drugs-from-canada/641121/8 "2012-11-18T19:11:50Z")
I just ran across a link to this website - [Canadian International Pharmacy Association](http://www.cipa.com/). > [@](#): > > Each CIPA pharmacy member is licensed and regulated by the government for safety. You should be able to compare prices of reputable Canadian pharmacies there. ---
**Author:** ![Theturkeydidit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e19b73/32.png) [@Theturkeydidit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Theturkeydidit)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2015, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buying-prescription-drugs-from-canada/641121/9 "2015-06-02T22:50:29Z")
Most of these sources are pretty good. You can also check out [Canada Drug Pharmacy](http://www.canadadrugpharmacy.com). However, you do need a proper prescription to deal with them. Basically, just do a search on Google for CIPA. CIPA stands for Canadian International Pharmacy Association. If you see a site listed there, most likely they are legit. Best of luck with your search.