CONCORD, N.H. – Gov. Craig Benson on Monday unveiled a link on the state’s official Web site to a Canadian pharmacy that exports cheaper drugs to the United States.

“I will not stand by and watch our seniors overpay for lifesaving medication,” he said. “The pharmaceutical industry has balanced their books on the backs of seniors for too long.”

David Minnis, spokesman for the New Hampshire Pharmacists Association, said the governor is “putting the state at risk,” echoing criticism last week from the Food and Drug Administration.

Benson has been trying to get a waiver from the government to allow New Hampshire to buy cheaper drugs from Canada.

Federal law forbids the importation of prescription drugs from Canada.

“You don’t try and circumvent health and safety by price controls,” Minnis said. “He’s in effect saying that we, the state of New Hampshire, sanction this Web site as safe. This is not a healthy Web site.”

The FDA says the dangers of importing drugs include the possibility of fake or contaminated medication.

Minnesota and Wisconsin have established Web sites to help residents buy prescription drugs from Canada, and Springfield, Mass., and Montgomery, Ala., have set up programs for city employees to buy medication north of the border.