Could we just vote to lower drug prices? That's what Californians are trying to do. 

Activists in the Golden State have succeeded in getting a referendum placed on the ballot this November that, if approved, will prohibit any state agency from paying more for a drug than the lowest price paid by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. 

The measure is largely driven by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation. The effect of high drug prices on AIDS patients was prominently displayed this fall, when Martin Shkreli, the chief executive of Turing Pharmaceuticals, raised the price of a medication often used by HIV patients from $13.50 a pill to $750 a pill. 

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