BOSTON – The city of Boston and the state of New Hampshire announced Tuesday they will begin buying prescription drugs from Canada, jumping to the forefront of the growing but illegal movement to take advantage of lower prices across the border.

New Hampshire would become the first state to turn to Canada for drugs, and Boston would become only the second U.S. city – after Springfield, about 90 miles west. Meanwhile, Burlington, Vt., plans to start importing prescription drugs for city employees starting March 1, Burlington Mayor Peter Clavelle said Tuesday.

“It’s illegal, but it’s about time we forced the issue,” said Mayor Thomas M. Menino, a Democrat. “Why is the consumer the only one to pay full price for prescription drugs?”

The mayor said Boston will begin buying prescription drugs this summer for about 7,000 city employees and retirees.

New Hampshire Gov. Craig Benson said the state will begin buying medicines for prison inmates and Medicaid recipients as soon as possible. His spokesman would not be more specific on when it would start.

“It’s time we stood up as a state and did the right thing and allowed citizens to purchase drugs from the most affordable supplier,” said Benson, a Republican.

The Boston and New Hampshire plans were announced a day after President Bush signed the Medicare prescription drug bill, which forbids reimportation of Canadian drugs unless the U.S. Health and Human Services Department certifies their safety. So far, the department has refused to do so.

The Food and Drug Administration reiterated its warnings Tuesday against any importation of drugs.

“For the mayor of Boston or anyone else to presume that they can make drugs safe simply be saying they are safe is extremely risky behavior,” said Peter Pitts, FDA’s associate commissioner for external affairs. “The public servants of Boston deserve better than a gimmick.”

Menino, past president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, said he wants to meet with FDA head Mark McClellan and Tommy Thompson, secretary of Health and Human Services, to seek help in making the process safe and legal.