Hawaii Legislature overrides Gov. Lingle's veto of prescription drug importation program

Hawaii lawmakers last week overrode Gov. Linda Lingle's (R) veto of a bill that will enroll the state in I-SaveRx, a program that allows residents to purchase lower-cost prescription drugs from other countries, the AP/Honolulu Advertiser reports.

Hawaii is the sixth state to enroll in the program, which began in Illinois in 2004 and can provide savings of up to 55%.

It will be available to all state residents by July 1, 2009.

Critics of the program said that they were concerned about the safety of drugs from other countries and that they were not sure whether it is legal.

According to the AP/Advertiser, "Although it's illegal to import drugs that don't comply with the federal government's labeling requirements or haven't been granted federal approval, federal authorities so far haven't gone after I-SaveRx" (Niesse, AP/Honolulu Advertiser, 5/9).