This will impact me personally. I have imported one of my meds from the U.K. via orders to a Canadian online pharmacy for years. It’s a fraction of the U.S. price even using generics and discounting.
https://www.wsj.com/health/healthcare/us-customs-prescription-drugs-canada-71978a47?mod=hp_lead_pos5
Americans Are About to Lose Access to Cheap Gray-Market Prescriptions From Canada
Millions who use online pharmacies from Canada and other countries could get cut off in October
By Xavier Martinez, The Wall Street Journal, Sept. 22, 2026
…
Millions of Americans use foreign mail-order pharmacies, mostly from Canada, to acquire affordable daily medications. They are facing an impending deadline that could abruptly cut off their prescription supply.
These patients are racing to stock up on medications before late October, when a rule goes into effect requiring medications mailed from abroad to go through a customs process requiring a licensed customs broker and a financial guarantee—a bar few individual mail-order prescriptions have ever had to clear.
The government is trying to crack down on illegal contraband that it says comes into the country through low-value foreign shipments that don’t pay tariffs or submit data for tracking…
The practice has operated for decades in a legal gray area: technically barred under FDA rules, importers say it is rarely enforced. Customs agents have historically waved through low-value, personal-use packages rather than individually checking each one against the agency’s criteria.
The U.S. government has already made these imports more difficult. Starting in August of last year, patients ordering medication by mail have had to start paying customs fees on shipments that previously arrived free of charge.
The new rule fully closes the regulatory gap on Oct. 22… [end quote]
I was warned about this last week by the Canadian online pharmacy. I ordered a package of meds and maybe I will order another one. But this is a chronic condition so it will bite sooner or later.
Wendy