The debate on whether Food and Drug Administration (FDA) should allow importation of foreign prescription drugs has attracted debate. According to FDA, and sections of drug makers, importation of drugs is illegal, and consumers are likely to buy counterfeit products ( Lynch & Cohen, 2015) . The discussion in this study lists the arguments for and against the importation of foreign prescription drugs.
Arguments for Importation
Importation of foreign prescription drugs is being supported by numerous arguments.
Firstly, importation is allowed by law and it allows free trade. Importation is an idea that has been improved by globalization, free trade and technology. In that sense, individuals should be allowed to access foreign prescription drugs as opposed to limiting their consumer choice ( Lynch & Cohen, 2015) .
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Secondly, the current pricing of drugs is not fair to the consumer. Drug users in other countries are paying less to access same drugs and even after importing, consumers get it at a fair price.
Thirdly, imported drugs are equally safe, considering that, factories and pharmacies form the countries of importation comply with laws and apply best practices to produce quality drugs ( Lynch & Cohen, 2015) . Notably, the imported drugs have had no bad impact on the people, a clear indication they are standard.
Companies manufacturing drugs lack competition and as such, they make excessive profit. They are evil and they use the taxpayer kitty to market their products, instead of conducting research on research and development.
Arguments against Importation
The people opposed to importation argue that the current prices of drugs in the United States are fair. According to them, most drug companies offer discounts to low-income earners. The law demands that drug companies give discounted prices to Medicaid programs ( Lynch & Cohen, 2015) . The recent reforms allow Medicare to pay drug costs for those with low incomes. For that reason, importation of foreign prescription drugs should be discouraged at all costs.
Drug importation is against the spirit of free trade. Free trade allows market prices of the services and goods to remain in the trading nations. Prescription of drugs is against this spirit (Davidson, 2011) . The idea of importation is to get drugs at reduced prices as determined by the foreign government as opposed to achieving innovation, promoting competition or bringing new investment.
Drugs in some countries such as Canada are no longer safe. The authority in charge of health in Canada has admitted that, it has failed to inspect drugs coming from countries such as Brazil, China and South Africa (Davidson, 2011) . In that sense, the FDA has equally stated that they cannot guarantee safety of drugs from other nations to United States.
Negative Externalities, Positive Externalities, and Public Goods
In view of my research, there is a relationship between negative externalities, positive externalities, and public goods. Negative externalities are evident in the sense that, prescription drug importation can expose consumers to contaminated and counterfeit drugs (Davidson, 2011). In that sense, the FDA and other stakeholders in this field should device ways of protecting consumers, such as introducing insurance and other measures. Negative externalities can affect the community in the sense that, the drugs can have untold impacts on their health, and their under-pricing can push the authorized drug companies out of the market (Davidson, 2011). Positive externalities are evident in the prescription drug importation in the sense that, the drugs assist in ensuring the public remains healthy. Improved health care leads to better standards of living and quality of life.
There exists a relationship between public goods prescription drug importation considering that, the well being of the public cannot be guaranteed by FDA, once too much drugs are imported (Steiner, 2014). In the same vein, Medicare is committed to ensure dug companies offer the best prices to the consumer. Their effort is defeated when drugs are imported because they cannot simply control the prices of such imported drugs.
References
Davidson, M. (2011). Pharmaceutical Anti-Counterfeiting: Combating the Real Danger from Fake Drugs. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons
Lynch, H. F. & Cohen, I. G. (2015). (Ed). FDA in the Twenty-First Century: The Challenges of Regulating Drugs and New Technologies. New York, NY: Columbia University Press.
Steiner (2014). (Ed). Problems in Health Care Law. New York, NY: Jones & Bartlett Publishers
