Heard on the radio this morning: US pharmaceutical companies are not happy with online Canadian pharmacies that cater to US citizens by selling them drugs at reduced prices. Said pharmaceuticals are in the process of “cracking down” on our neighbors to the north. Merc has already stated that it will no longer sell drugs to any online pharmacy that sells across the border.

Now, we’ve heard all kinds of reasons for this in the past, mostly having to do with safety issues. When these drugs cross a border — any border — they suddenly become unsafe for Americans to consume.

When I was little, I had an aunt who was convinced that “night air” was harmful. After the sun went down, she made sure to go around her house and close up all the windows. And don’t dare sleep with a window open! Oh, no! That harmful night air will get you every time. But, aunty I would protest, its exactly the same atmosphere I breathe all day. I was unable to ever convince her it was safe.

I like to think of the “unsafe drugs” theory as the night air of the pharmaceutical industry.

But this time I think we hit a little closer to the truth: According to the radio piece I heard, he pharmaceutical companies are unhappy about the loss of revenue caused by the mass exodus across the border to the land overflowing with cheaper medication. Oh. Darn. I feel so sorry for them.

It will be interesting to see the Bush Administration take on this, given his supposed adherence to good, old-fashion supply-side Reaganomics. Cutting off the supply of the Canadian pharmacies pretty well flies in the face of the trickle-down effect.