Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer said Thursday that he is seeking U.S. government permission to import cheaper drugs from Canada for use in state insurance programs.

Schweitzer said he thinks the move could chop 40 per cent off the $100 million US the state spends each year on prescription drugs for Medicaid, the children's health insurance program, state employees, and inmates at the prison.

The governor said he envisions the state setting up a deal with a Canadian wholesaler that could mail the drugs to local pharmacies on insurance plans paid for by the state. In the case of the prison, the governor said he expects the state would order those directly.

The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said Thursday it had not yet seen Montana's request and couldn't comment.

Schweitzer was first involved in the issue during an unsuccessful U.S. Senate run in 2000, when he made cheap Canadian drugs a cornerstone of his platform and would take busloads of seniors north of the border to buy drugs.

The issue has been debated in Washington, D.C., over the years. Recently, the U.S. Senate rejected a plan to let Americans import prescription drugs from abroad. Such a change would deprive drug makers of billions of dollars.

Both the pharmaceutical industry and the Obama administration also have argued that such plans would not protect people from potentially dangerous or ineffective drugs