Pharmacies are victims of the drug industry just like us. S. 300 would have let our pharmacies buy drugs at a lower price, helping them compete with mail order, Internet and Canadian prices and bringing customers back into local pharmacies. Pharmacies will still charge their usual profit mark ups and will not sell at a loss. Local pharmacies will only be affected if the drug companies refuse to cooperate. But, the industry's lawyer told the Legislature they would not stop selling here, and they already sell these same drugs in Canada and the many other countries where prices are even lower than in Canada.
Experts agree that a price cap is constitutional .
The legislature's legal consultant, the Attorney General's office and others have said the state has authority to regulate prices when drugs are sold in Vermont. States regulate businesses and interstate commerce all the time, like setting insurance rates, requiring bottle deposits and banning billboards. A price cap would not reduce drug research and development . Write a letter to the editor supporting inexpensive medicine for all Vermonters. Tips on Writing a LetterTo the Editor Newspapers require that you limit your letters to 200 words or less and ask that you do not send in a letter more than once every two months.