Nevadans could have more options to buy their prescription drugs across the Canadian border in upcoming months.

The number of approved Canadian pharmacies could double from the current four should site inspections go well in mid-September.

Three more pharmacies have received preliminary approval for licenses but must undergo the site inspection before prescriptions can be received and filled, Louis Ling, legal counsel for the Nevada State Pharmacy Board, said Wednesday.

"Inspections are part of the application process,'' Ling said. "Once they've been inspected and we've given them the approval, they can become fully activated.''

The pharmacies are Minit Drugs, Health One Pharmacy and R.F. Drug Store.

Another pharmacy, Langdon Drugs LTD out of Calgary, Alberta, has applied for a license. The application is scheduled to be heard during next week's Pharmacy Board meeting in Reno.

Should Langdon receive approval next week, it too will be inspected during September, Ling said.

The four pharmacies approved earlier this year after the state's law was changed to allow residents to buy prescription drugs by mail order through state-approved Canadian pharmacies seem to be doing well.

Hometown Pharmacy, Extended Care Pharmacy, Ultra Care Pharmacy and Granville Pharmacy are listed on a state-run Web site. The site has netted nearly 11,000 hits, and the Pharmacy Board has received no complaints from residents about them, Ling said.

The phone calls the agency has received usually are from individuals seeking information about buying through the companies.

"Occasionally, we will get a call from someone whose prescription has been confiscated by customs, but we just tell them to call the pharmacy,'' Ling said. "The pharmacy will just reship the product. We've received about three of four of those calls.''

Federal law prohibits anyone other than the drug's manufacturer from reimporting prescription drugs manufactured in the United States. But a person without insurance might save as much as 60 percent by buying from pharmacies in Canada, where price controls exist.

That is why state legislators pushed for regulations allowing Canadian pharmacies to fill mail orders of Nevadans.

The regulations allow shipments of medications approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration and Health Canada, which regulates prescription drugs in Canada but prohibits shipments of narcotics and controlled substances. The agency prohibits the shipment of generic medications that are available in Canada but not in the United States and medications that require refrigeration.

Peter Clark, marketing director for Hometown Pharmacy, said Wednesday the company continues to receive a large volume of calls from Nevada. At the start, the company was receiving hundreds of calls a day.

"That number has tapered off a bit, but we're more than pleased with the results,'' Clark said. "People see this as a viable option.''

Clark could not provide the number of Nevada customers the company has. He said the top three filled prescriptions are Lipitor, Plavix and Fosamax. Fosamax is for prevention and treatment of osteoporosis; Plavix is used to prevent heart attacks and stroke; and Lipitor is a cholesterol-lowering drug.

All three are manufactured in the United States.

On Wednesday, the FDA released a warning for consumers not to buy or use prescription drugs from Canadian Web sites that are selling what is thought to be counterfeit products, including one for Lipitor. None of the Web sites listed by the FDA has been approved by Nevada.