What do Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, and Bernie Sanders have in common? They have each declared their support for importation of lower cost medicine by Americans. Every presidential candidate should support this. Americans can save an average of 84% off U.S. prices on popular brand name medicines purchased from reputable international online pharmacies. I know because I started PharmacyChecker.com which, since 2002, has been checking the credentials of international pharmacies and posting the prices of those which only dispense from licensed pharmacies.
Donald Trump joined this bandwagon recently, announcing his support for helping Americans buy lower cost medication from overseas. Secretary Hillary Clinton, the leading Democratic candidate, was already on record in support of drug importation to improve access to lower drug prices, stating in Tech Times: "If the medicine you need costs less in Canada, you should be able to buy it from Canada--or any other country that meets our safety standards." Senator Bernie Sanders has introduced legislation to expressly legalize personal drug importation and is on record as one of the first politicians to take seniors on bus trips to Canada to import medication.
Under current law, personal drug importation is technically illegal under most circumstances, but individuals are not prosecuted for doing so. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about four million Americans import medication for personal use already. And independent research has shown that medication purchased from properly verified international online pharmacies is genuine.
With millions of Americans doing this safely for more than a dozen years, it's time for our government to stop threatening and scaring consumers and simply do what's right: Make personal drug importation fully legal. It's not a cure to all of our drug price problems, but it immediately puts money back into consumers pockets and may exert some downward pressure on outrageously high prices at home.