PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) – A bill that will allow the state Department of Health to issues licenses to Canadian pharmacies became law without the governor’s signature.

The new law removes an obstacle for Rhode Islanders seeking to buy prescription medicines from Canada, where they are often substantially cheaper.

Carcieri had announced his support for the bill in April, but earlier this week said he might veto it. Several business and health groups as well as two major drug makers lobbied for a veto, saying the imported drugs would endanger health and stifle the growth of the biotechnology industry.

On Thursday, shortly before the deadline to veto or sign it, Carcieri announced that he would let the bill become law. The Providence Journal reports he withheld his signature because the federal government considers the law illegal.

The law makes Rhode Island the first state to allow foreign pharmacies to obtain pharmacy licenses.

Many Rhode Islanders already buy medications from Canada by phone or online because the drugs are cheaper there due to price controls. However, the Rhode Island Department of Health has sent cease-and-desist orders to the Canadian pharmacies in the past, because federal law bans the importation of drugs.

On Thursday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration sent a letter to Carcieri warning him that federal law supersedes the new law, therefore the state law is unconstitutional.

The FDA also charged the Rhode Island law will undermine the agency’s efforts to control drug quality.

The FDA’s “regulatory system has enabled our citizens to have the safest, most advanced drug supply in the world . . . drugs made or distributed in other countries are not necessarily subject to FDA strict regulatory standards,” the letter said.

But Carcieri said it is unfair for Americans to bear the cost of drug research and development while Canadian companies reap the benefits.

“The fact that Americans currently subsidize the price of prescription drugs in Canada is a tremendous injustice that must be changed,” he said.

The governor called for the federal government to resolve the Canadian drug issue.

The new law, which had the support of the Rhode Island Medical Society, takes effect Jan. 15.

AP-ES-07-02-04 0628EDT