This afternoon, the U.S. Senate will be voting on an amendment to H.R. 2112, the Agriculture-Commerce-etc. appropriations bill for FY 2012. The amendment (#769) is being offered by Senator David Vitter (R-La.) The amendment in question would allow Americans to purchase prescription medicines from Canada. On its face, this is a pro-free market amendment. Why should the government prevent people from buying goods or services from anywhere they want to, especially a developed nation like Canada? The free market answer is that consumers would often not be importing just the medicine, but also the price control. In most countries, the...