Deadlines passes for RX Depot; it remains open for business

Thursday, September 11th 2003, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

The US Justice Department gave a Tulsa business until noon Thursday to shutdown or be taken to court. The owners of RX Depot decided not to close even though they werenâ€™t sure what the Food and Drug Administration would do to them.

As News on 6 anchor Tami Marler explains, this Tulsa startup is causing a national controversy.

High noon on Thursday at the RX Depot and David Peoples isn't really sure what to expect. What he does know, is the company he and Carl Moore started in November of last year is causing quite a stir with the food and drug administration, which filed suit in federal court after a noon deadline to shut down its 85 nationwide storefronts.

Noon came and went with little fanfare here at RX Depot. It's business as usual and business is booming, not just in Tulsa, but also all over the country. Sharon Hulsey had never been to RX Depot before Thursday. She's here because of news coverage of the fight over importing Canadian drugs at discounts of between 25 and 85%. She had to see for herself.

In a complaint filed Thursday afternoon, the FDA says RX Depot is breaking the law by importing foreign drugs that don't have the same assurance of safety as drugs regulated here.

In many cases, Peoples says the drugs are the very same as those sold in US pharmacies.