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Michigan is the only state in the country that exempts drug companies from consumer protection laws. A law was passed in 1996 giving total immunity to pharmaceutical companies when their products cause harm or even death.
The Legislature is putting drug company profits ahead of consumer protection, and we need a new direction. I am pushing to repeal the Michigan law that gives drug companies total immunity from consumer protection laws even when they make drugs that harm or kill people. Michigan is the only state in the nation with such a law.
And we aren't receiving any special benefits for this exemption. We still are paying the same high prices for our prescription drugs as other states.
I believe victims of dangerous drugs like Vioxx should be able to hold drug companies accountable, particularly when a nonpartisan congressional Government Accounting Office (GAO) report released in early 2006 found that the FDA is riddled with safety gaps, according to an article in the Los Angeles Times. The gaps include the FDA's failure to assess all clinical safety test data, which drug companies currently don't have to reveal, and internal bickering that allowed at least two drugs to go to consumers even after some FDA investigators warned of dangerous side effects, according to the article.
I have also supported legislation that forces drug companies to reveal all clinical safety test results, which will give consumers and their doctors valuable information to make better health care decisions.
Our citizens have no recourse against big drug companies for one reason and one reason alone: they live in Michigan. This needs to change and I will continue to fight for the citizens of the Upper Peninsula and Northern Michigan.
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