One month after Nevadans could legally begin ordering prescription drugs by mail from Canada, four pharmacies in that country are each averaging about 30 calls a day from the state, and about one-third of those calls result in an order.

In addition, the state's Canadian Pharmacy Web site received about 100-thousand hits in its first week of operation.

Buying drugs from Canada is nothing new and other states have similar programs, but Nevada is the first to license Canadian pharmacies. Four have been licensed and two others are under consideration. By licensing the pharmacies, the Nevada Board of Pharmacy can ensure the same oversight it exercises on in-state pharmacies. It can visit the Canadian pharmacies at its discretion and will conduct at least one on-site inspection each year.

(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)