You can crisscross North Dakota from Fargo to Bismarck to Minot and never see a Walgreens, Rite-Aid or Walmart pharmacy.
With narrow exceptions, a 1963 state law prohibits drugstores that aren’t majority-owned by a pharmacist.
(CVS Health, whose predecessor company was already in the state in 1963, is grandfathered in.)
It has withstood multiple challenges in court, repeal efforts in the stage Legislative Assembly, and even a statewide ballot initiative.
North Dakota, by the way, also has a public bank and a state-owned flour mill, both founded shortly after World War I, so it’s kind of different.
Persons:
Stacy Mitchell
Organizations:
Rite, Aid, Walmart, CVS Health, Institute for Local, Reliance
Locations:
Dakota, Fargo, Bismarck, Minot, Portland , Maine, North Dakota