What is my risk here?

September 24, 2009 5:48 PM

I live in Canada. I have a friend in US who is battling cancer. She has asked me to pick up an alternative cancer remedy and bring it over the border to her in New York.

The treatment is Coley Fluid, which is essentially high doses of Streptococcus pyogenes and Serratia marcescens bacteria. It has not been an approved therapy in the US since 1962. (The basic idea behind the treatment is that is causes high fevers in the patient, which then kicks the immune system into high gear. I understand that the reasoning behind this treatment might strike you as absurd, and believe me -- I totally get that. But that's not really what the question is about.)

For my drive over the border, I'll have a prescription for the treatment, and she's told me to tell the border guards that I'm bringing an alternative cancer treatment to a friend. She wants me to drive to the nearest UPS location and overnight the package to her.

My question is basically, is this illegal? If so, how illegal? If I'm stopped at the border and the treatment is seized, could I also be arrested? I'm happy to try to get this medication to her if the worst that happens is that I'm unsuccessful. If could also be arrested and/or fined, I'm just not willing to take that risk. I'm guessing that mailing the treatment to her via UPS also may be illegal -- am I right in assuming that? If it complicates things, I am a Permanent Resident in Canada -- I will not be eligible for citizenship until early 2010.

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posted by anonymous to law & government (20 comments total)

Couldn't you just say you are going over the border to visit a friend? Saying "alternative" and "cancer treatment" would raise red flags, IMO. "Why couldn't your friend get the treatment in the US, and why do you need to cross the border to deliver it", is what I'd think if I was working at the border.

I would say you are going to visit a friend for the day, since you have a prescription. Don't even mention it unless asked.
posted by santaliqueur at 5:55 PM on September 24 [1 favorite]

Oone of my immunology teachers mentioned in passing that it was quite possible to kill oneself by self-administration of this kind of remedy. Essentially, you're prompting your body to mount a massive, systemic immune response to these "phantom"/dead/purified bacteria--this is essentially the same thing that happens in, for instance, toxic shock syndrome. I think he was referring to this case.

While there may be a sound basis for belief that administrating immune-system activators and invoking a massive immune response could be a viable cancer treatment, I wouldn't undertake this lightly or without knowledgeable supervision. Please encourage your friend to give that NJEM article a thorough reading.
posted by pullayup at 6:21 PM on September 24

STOP. Your friend does not know better than mainstream medicine, whatever its faults. Don't assist her in seriously fucking up her own body out of some misguided belief.
posted by Inspector.Gadget at 6:27 PM on September 24 [1 favorite]

I'm happy to try to get this medication to her if the worst that happens is that I'm unsuccessful. If could also be arrested and/or fined, I'm just not willing to take that risk.

What if the worst that happens is that your friend dies of the treatment...will you be at peace with that, or will you be wracked with guilt, no matter how irrational? This is a serious question I'm wondering if you considered, not a snark.
posted by availablelight at 6:38 PM on September 24

While I have never tried "I am carrying an alternative cancer treatment not approved in the States to mail to a friend" at the border, my gut tells me that you won't get across.

You don't seem ready to smuggle, and I'm with you on that one, I wouldn't do it.

My advice is to try to find someplace that she could go to get the therapy she wants, some clinic or something like that. Fort Erie and Niagara Falls are not that far from New York. An easy trip by train. And some clinic would be better than self-medicating.
posted by rakish_yet_centered at 7:04 PM on September 24

I personally hate when people don't directly answer AskMe questions, but I have to chime in with most everyone else here: Your friend could kill herself doing this. Immune systems kicking into high gear can lead to a cytokine storm, which can be fatal or, at best, leave your friend's immune system worse off than before.
posted by greenland at 7:05 PM on September 24

Consult a doctor and a lawyer before even thinking of doing this. You need a doctor for the medical side of it and you need a lawyer for the legal side of it (and to talk about possible civil or criminal liability--if the treatment, you know, kills her).
posted by smorange at 7:26 PM on September 24 [1 favorite]

Another thing to consider, you'd be bringing a biological substance into the country. I don't know what the biocontrol laws are like between the USA and Canada but it's something you should look into. This might possibly be illegal on that front.

While there may be a sound basis for belief that administrating immune-system activators and invoking a massive immune response could be a viable cancer treatment

There isn't, by the way.
posted by shelleycat at 7:53 PM on September 24

[This is a followup from the asker.]

I did not mention this is in my initial question, but my friend is under the care of a very skilled oncologist who is aware she is using the Coley Fluid treatment. He's not prescribing it to her (another doctor is) and was not the one to recommend it, but he's completely and totally aware she is using this treatment.

As for how foolish it is, I noted in the question that the treatment might strike you as absurd and that I "totally get that". Then I noted that this isn't really what the question is about. And it's not. I'm really just wondering what, if any, laws exist against transporting the treatment across the border and what my risks would be in helping her. I understand that the treatment could kill her. SHE understands that the treatment could kill her. She's also got Stage 4 cancer and that's pretty likely to kill her too.

posted by cortex at 8:10 PM on September 24

Purely on the customs/border part of the question, which I think is all you're asking about (ahem), I would not mention the cancer or the medicine at all, just going to visit a friend.

Whatever they find in your luggage is yours, for your own use, unless you tell them otherwise, after all. Since no prescription is required, I doubt it'd cause any problems. Toss it in an overnight kit with all your vitamins and herbal whatnots.

I have found that as long as you're willing to say "Oh, wow, I didn't know that would be a problem. You can throw it out, officer." there's little risk in TRYing to take almost anything through customs.

(Nine out of every ten times I say that, they shrug and throw it back in my bag, having seen that it's not that important to me, I guess.)
posted by rokusan at 8:24 PM on September 24

If it was me I'd just mail the package, quasi-anonymously, from Canada and label the customs form "gift" with minimal value. Essentially zero chance of anyone pinning it on you if it's intercepted even if you are breaking a law somewhere along the way. Next Day priority mail to the US doesn't start till the 29th but 3 day express post is available now.
posted by Mitheral at 8:58 PM on September 24

Why on earth would the border security people care about the MASSIVE DOSES OF TOXIC BACTERIA?

They won't have a clue, and since it'll be in some healthy-wellness vitamin type packaging or bottle, meh. And like I said, if they make a fuss, just offer to discard it, no big deal.

It's just some vitamin woowoo drink thing, see.
posted by rokusan at 9:22 PM on September 24

It is illegal under US law:

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration prohibits the importation, by mail or in person, of fraudulent prescription and nonprescription drugs and medical devices. These include unorthodox “cures” for such medical conditions as cancer

It surely can't be illegal under Canadian law to export something you can legally obtain within Canada, so I imagine being caught would not directly affect your citizenship status but could do so if the citizenship process includes conditions about your criminal record elsewhere.
posted by Phanx at 12:33 AM on September 25 [1 favorite]

Yeah, what you are proposing is illegal in the US, even if not in Canada, and with good reason. When you cross the US border on entry to the US, you will be dealing with US customs agents, not Canadian ones. They are concerned with US laws and regulations, not Canadian ones. You will be purposing to break one of these, and as such none of us should be advising you on how best to do it.

I'd get a US lawyer if I were you. I'm pretty sure if you can keep your cool you can drive across the border without ever even having your luggage inspected, but if this treatment ends up killing your friend - which it very well could - you could be liable to charges much worse than trying to cross the border with some woowoo drink thing.
posted by allkindsoftime at 1:41 AM on September 25

(Phanx, yes, it can be illegal; f'rinstance, exporting certain fur or bone items without a multilateral CITES permit.)
posted by scruss at 6:08 AM on September 25

UPS follows the guidelines set by IATA. They have document (PDF) called "UPS TARIFF/TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF SERVICE FOR PACKAGE SHIPMENTS IN THE UNITED STATES" which you should first read (starting on Page 2). In part, it states, "Packages containing “Biological Substance, Category B” as defined in 49 C.F.R. § 174.134, which are prepared in accordance with all aspects of 49 C.F.R. § 173.199, will be accepted for transportation."

So, that leads to the question, what is Category B? I found two documents on the IATA website that address this (PDFs: one, two ).

Please note, you'll need to follow very specific guidelines when labeling your package. This protects the carrier and everyone handling your package, as you are somewhat potentially exposing them to these bacteria. Packaging and marking requirements are on the UPS website here.

Because of the danger to the carrier, and possibly not being able to sort out whether these are Category A or Category B items, I'd call UPS (not a local storefront, but the corporation proper) and get specific directions from them and follow the directions exactly as they say. The UPS contact information is here.
posted by Houstonian at 8:13 AM on September 25

Also, you've probably already thought of this, but if you are picking up the bacteria from MBVax Bioscience, maybe you could ask them to mail the package directly to your friend.
posted by Houstonian at 9:00 AM on September 25

So, first of all this is quite illegal. Just so you know.

But, um, if you decide to go to the US (for whatever reason) anyway, please please please don't tell the border guards you're "going to visit a friend for the day," unless you actually have a friend in Buffalo or whatever UPS-store-containing border town is near you, and (ideally) are actually going to drop in on that friend. Nine times out of ten you would probably be let through with a nod, but this particular line has to lead to some of the worst/most obvious follow-up questions in the world. Where does your friend live? What kind of friend? Why are you driving all this way to see them for just an afternoon? What's your friend's address and phone number? (You laugh, but I've actually overheard someone next to me getting something like that particular line from the customs and immigration guy at the airport.)

Just tell them you're going shopping (at a place you've picked in advance, please). No big deal, you just won't have duty-free exemptions coming back in (presuming you are honest with the Canadian customs people and tell them you were gone for only a couple hours). Heck, you might actually want to go shopping, given that the Canadian dollar is pretty strong right now. Or, if you're going to Buffalo, go have wings at the Anchor Bar and spend a while looking at the architecture downtown. But please, no fictitious "friends" just across the border.
posted by chalkbored at 9:07 AM on September 25

If you decide against mailing these, and MBVax Bioscience can't or won't, here's another possible alternative for your friend.

This article says that MBVax is conducting trials: "MBVax plans to file for marketing exclusivity with the FDA. In 2009, MBVax plans to commence clinical trials in Denmark, Germany, Switzerland, Canada, and in the United States at Harvard Medical School."

This article from the LA Times in 2008 adds the following information: "MacAdam [CEO, MBVax) has solved Coley's major difficulty: maintaining consistency of the brew from batch to batch. His preparation has been tested on terminal cancer patients outside the U.S. and Canada, and he contends that 24 in 38 patients have shown signs of tumor regression, although nothing is published yet. Dr. Vikas Sukhatme, a professor at Harvard Medical School, says he hopes to run clinical trials once the product has been manufactured according to Food and Drug Administration guidelines."

So it seems that another possible avenue for your friend is to contact Dr. Vikas Sukhatme, at Beth Israel in Boston (a teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School), and see if he can offer solutions for her getting this. Dr. Sukhatme's contact information (and the names and contact information of his research team) is here.
posted by Houstonian at 10:22 AM on September 25

[This is another followup from the asker.]

Ultimately, I told my friend I was unwilling to take on the risk of transporting the treatment across the border and she found someone else to do it. She just completed five weeks of Coley's and never once got a high fever (nor is she dead). Next week she's resuming more traditional cancer treatments. Thanks to everyone for their input.

posted by cortex at 6:39 AM on October 27