Palm Beach Post (Florida)

For 25 people fed up with the high out-pocket cost of prescription drugs, it’s time to get out of Dodge. Well… out of South Florida, at least.

The group, trying to push one of the nation’s biggest political hot-button issues, is hopping on a train today to travel to Toronto to pick up a three-month supply of their drugs.

Organizers say the Rx Express riders – which include small business owners, senior citizens and working mothers, none of which are from Palm Beach County or the Treasure Coast – represent the millions of people who cannot afford prescription drugs.

The California-based Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights sponsored a similar ride up the West Coast in August, and both trips provide the group with a whistle-stop tour on which to promote their solution – a national bulk-purchasing program for all patients.

Despite the fact that it’s illegal to buy prescription drugs abroad and bring them back to the United States, Jerry Flanagan, a spokesman for the group, said government officials have said they won’t prosecute Rx Express riders.

“It shows poorly on (President) Bush to go after grandmas,” he said.