A U.K. pharmacy is about to take advantage of a controversial, first-in-the-nation law that allows Maine residents to purchase prescription drugs from some foreign pharmacies. And the arrival of the Great British Drugstore may further the debate over importing drugs from overseas, an issue fueled by episodes of counterfeit medicines entering the U.S.

The law, which has been challenged by drug makers and local pharmacists, was passed in an effort to lower the cost of medicines for state residents and had the support of the Maine business community. State residents are permitted to purchase their prescription drugs through a broker from pharmacies that are licensed in Canada, the U.K., New Zealand Australia.

Shortly after the law passed last October, two Canadian online brokers began offering services to Maine residents. But the emergence of a pharmacy from yet another country underscores the need to monitor the flow of medicines in the country, according to Ken McCall, the immediate past president of the Maine Pharmacy Association, which filed a lawsuit in hopes of overturning the state law.

“This is a big deal because this escalates the situation,” he tells us. “We’re disappointed to hear of another foreign entity trying to skirt federal law. It’s concerning to us. And we strongly advise people in Maine to be alert and skeptical to not take what’s printed on any website at face value without questioning it.”

Here’s how it will work. Maine residents will be able to purchase medicines online, although the Great British Drugstore plans to process prescriptions from an office in Portland, Mary O’Brien, managing director for the U.K. pharmacy tells The Bangor Daily News. The pharmacy, which taps a 61-chain pharmacy in the U.K. for supplies, does not have to be licensed in Maine under the state law.

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