Is Your Grandmother a Criminal?

From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: "High drug prices create unlikely outlaws," by Christopher Carey--

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration considers importation of prescription drugs from Canada to be illegal. It seldom pursues individuals who buy modest quantities for personal use.

But a surge in cross-border sales in recent months, aided by new Internet pharmacies, has led the FDA and the pharmaceutical industry to consider more aggressive measures.

Pfizer Inc., for example, has sought to cut off supplies of its drugs to Canadian outlets that sell to Americans. That move has led some outlets to turn elsewhere, such as pharmacies in Australia, for deliveries of Lipitor, Celebrex and other in-demand drugs.

The tensions have pitted drug makers against retailers, consumers against regulators and state officials against federal officials - with no clear resolution in sight.