Byline: Robert MacMillan

The word "socialism" carries a negative connotation among most Americans -- except, of course, when the economic ideology results in lower prices for consumers.

Take the example of Canada's pharmacies, where people can buy prescription drugs at far cheaper prices than anywhere in the United States. Predictably enough, pharmacies up north now list thousands of Americans among their best customers.

That is why Canadian Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh will propose restricting Internet pharmacy sales, the Associated Press reported. "Dosanjh did not specify what steps would be taken, but his spokesman said the measures being considered include preventing Canadian doctors from co-signing prescriptions without examining patients. Other measures might be prohibiting prescriptions for foreigners who are not in Canada, barring a price reduction if the drugs are exported and banning bulk exports, spokesman Ken Polk said. Dosanjh has been studying options to restrict the practice for at least six months. 'I am concerned and we're acting on it. There will be news soon,' Dosanjh said."

By soon Dosanjh means next week when he will unveil the specifics to Prime Minister Paul Martin (Liberal).

Here's how American consumers currently work the system to their advantage, the AP reported: "A prescription from a U.S. doctor is faxed to a Canadian doctor, who reviews the document along with the patient's health history. The Canadian doctor signs and sends the prescription to a so-called Internet pharmacy, which ships the drug to the patient. Canadian officials say such sales endanger the Canadian drug supply, though they admit no shortages currently exist. The government also maintains it is unethical for doctors to sign prescriptions without examining patients."

Dosanjh fretted over the arrangement in an article published on June 14 in the Winnipeg Sun. His chief worry is that American pill-poppers could cause a drug shortage in Canada. Here's the problem, as the Sun explained: "Canada imports 94% of its prescription drugs and regulates the prices at levels much lower than in the U.S. Internet pharmacies then sell those cheap drugs to Americans, some states legalizing this trade."

Reuters said that Internet pharmacy sales generate about $690 million a year for Canada, and much of it benefits the economy of Manitoba, the province whose capital is Winnipeg. Pat Martin (NDP), a member of Parliament who represents Winnipeg, put the trade at $1 billion a year. He told the Sun that Dosanjh's proposed action is designed to "give in" to the pharma companies based in Quebec. MP Real Menard of the Bloc Quebecois hit Dosanjh from the other end, criticizing him for not taking action against Internet pharmacies in the 18 months since he was appointed health minister, the Sun wrote.

There's action happening on this front in Washington as well, Reuters reported: "Several bills to allow importation of foreign drugs are now before the U.S. Congress, and cities and states have also taken action. U.S. pharmaceutical companies have threatened to halt shipments to Canada if the drugs are simply shipped back to the United States and sold at levels that undercut U.S. prices."

It's a tricky issue to resolve. The Bush administration and the gang up north agree that something ought to be done; the White House thinks so because it doesn't want to see drug companies' revenues shrink and Canada because it wants to keep its drugs in-country.

The two nations split in a notable way: Canada would certainly dispute the notion that its drugs might not be safe for American use, something the Bush administration says is a possibility when U.S. pharmaceuticals exported up north are then reimported. Of course, when we faced a flu vaccine shortage in the states, former Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson couldn't say enough good things about the reliable Canadian drugs we brought in to bridge the gap.

On the other hand, a recent report conducted for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration by research firm Cyveillance showed that many so-called Canadian pharmacies are based elsewhere, and a good number of them could be described as "shady." (See my colleague Brian Krebs's news report on the study.)

In the end, it's one more dispute that might never have emerged if it were not for the Internet. Free-market supporters in the United States often praise the Internet as a goose that laid the golden egg. The result, however, is that access to the World Wide Web drove consumers to find the best deal available, no matter how far away or in what country. If anything, the Canadian pharmacy debate should make U.S. policymakers think a little harder about how to ensure that American citizens can buy affordable medication here at home.

At least one coffee shop in Seattle has cut back on its Internet access as it gets sick of lingering latte-loving laptoppers (see the "Backlash Achieved" item here ). Across the continent and across the border in Montreal, coffeehouses and bars are still figuring out just what to do about broadband-loving customers.

The Globe & Mail reported reported from Montreal, focusing on 24-year-old Pierre-Luc Feschett who happens to work for the humanitarian group Doctors Without Borders ... from a bar: "'I would never come here without the free Internet,' Mr. Feschett says from behind his monitor, halfway through what he figures will be a five-hour stint. 'It's great, because it lets me work in a bar.'"

Now, the paper said, "the best table in the house these days is often the one beside the wall socket. ... Accommodating patrons' electronic gadgetry is something the hospitality industry is grappling with as WiFi's popularity grows. Wireless hot spots are springing up across the country, from coffee shops and bars to convenience stores -- some run by businesses, others offered as community."

Said Jean Luc Cheval, owner of Cafe Vienne: "I just remind them that this is a cafe, not a library." The article also reported that a new digital etiquette is spreading: Users "avoid plugging in multiple devices, they don't eat up bandwidth by downloading music, and above all they make sure to buy a coffee or three during their stay." But they do fight for the wall plugs, so much so that some restaurants and bars have added more.

Many readers wrote to tell me that I erred when I suggested in a recent column that high school graduate Paloma Stanley of Dorchester, Mass., should have been able to walk during commencement without reimbursing the Boston Community Leadership Academy $700 for the laptop that she lost.

Nicole Bahnam, the school's principal, told me that she was prepared to keep Stanley and another student offstage that evening as a way to teach them a lesson on responsibility. I suggested that teaching an 18-year-old who lives alone and works after school to pay the rent about life's lessons was extreme. Not so fast, readers said:

David Lesko of Annandale, Va., asked: "Are you serious? Your rant about absolving students from their responsibilities of the technology they borrow is asinine. Is your thought that taxpayers have a limitless supply of money to provide for technology for schools? It doesn't really matter if Paloma Stanley has to walk with the laptop 5 miles each way to school and or work. In deep snow. With her sister's old boots. Sob stories are a dime a dozen. She needs to be held responsible. Period."

C. Takacs of Fairfax, Va., wrote: "You criticize the bureaucracy, but don't provide a reasonable alternative. Specifically, what standard should schools be setting for when it is OK to lose expensive equipment? You're an honor student, so you get a pass (even though the student really sold it to get a new iPod), but you look like you use drugs so you have to pay us back? And what would you say when the next year's students don't have enough laptops?"

As most politicians do when they can't back up a generality, the best I can say is, "You have to take it case by case." On the question of limited budgets, I can't imagine any school system worth its salt that would fail to build in some extra dollars to account for laptops that, inevitably, will get lost.

Steve Becker of Olney, Md., said that when he went to college, university officials allowed everyone to walk but saved the real diplomas for later. "Everyone could go to the ceremony, but no actual diploma would be forthcoming without the books being balanced."

"Mike" in Charleston, S.C., asked the question I should have thought to ask Principal Bahnam: "Has anyone in the school administration lost their pager, cell phone or laptop? How about excessive miles on a district car or copier abuse."