Cherokee tribe considers selling drugs from Canada (by mail)

[Doondoo]

Leaders of the Eastern Band of Cherokees are looking into selling discount prescription drugs by mail and possibly importing cheaper pharmaceuticals from Canada.

Selling prescription drugs has been a moneymaker for other tribes, but importing them from Canada could open an age-old rift between a tribe's claim of sovereignty and federal laws that prohibit the imports.

"We've definitely looked at the Canada option," said Michell Hicks, the principal chief of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.

The proposal could allow the tribe to fill prescriptions for tribal members and for people who live outside the boundaries of Cherokee land in the mountains of Western North Carolina. The latter would require a state permit.

Though discussions are preliminary, Cherokee health officials have toured mail-order pharmacies run by other tribes "to see if it makes sense for us," Hicks said. "We want to see whether volume purchases would lead to better prices for our tribal members," he said.


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