Chicago
An Illinois study released this week concluded that the state government could save $91 million a year by buying prescription drugs from Canada for state employees. Illinois is leading a pack of local and state governments lobbying for the right to import medicine from Canada, where government controls make the average prescription 40 percent cheaper than in the U.S. Federal health officials said they had no intention of lifting a ban on imported drugs, because U.S. inspectors cannot ensure that drugs from abroad are safe. But Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich said that Canadian safety regulations were more than adequate to protect patients from expired and counterfeit drugs. “It’s hard to stop an idea whose time has come,” Blagojevich said.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
January’s books feature a revisioned classic, a homeschooler's memoir and a provocative thriller dramedyThe Week Recommends This month’s new releases include ‘Call Me Ishmaelle’ by Xiaolu Guo, ‘Homeschooled: A Memoir’ by Stefan Merrill Block, ‘Anatomy of an Alibi’ by Ashley Elston and ‘Half His Age’ by Jennette McCurdy
-
‘Jumping genes': How polar bears are rewiring their DNA to survive the warming ArcticUnder the radar The species is adapting to warmer temperatures
-
Venezuela’s Trump-shaped power vacuumIN THE SPOTLIGHT The American abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has thrust South America’s biggest oil-producing state into uncharted geopolitical waters
