Online Pharmacy Reviews

How to buy medicines safely and cheaply online

What are the legal risks of using online pharmacies?

Posted on March 7, 2014 Written by Jack Wilson Leave a Comment

First of all, it should be said, that buying drugs that are NOT in the controlled substances list of the Drug Enforcement Administration ( Controlled Substances ) and from a valid online pharmacy is normally legal. The question of legality comes when controlled substances are put on the table.

 

As I have mentioned in my previous posts, the serious regulation of online pharmacies mainly started in 2009, when The Ryan Haight Online Pharmacy Consumer Protection Act was passed.

A quick reminder of what the act implies:

* The Ryan Haight Online Pharmacy Consumer Protection Act requires internet pharmacies to display information about the businesses, pharmacists and physicians associated with the website.
* The Act prohibits the sale of prescription drugs through online pharmacies when the website refers the customer to a doctor who then prescribes medication without seeing the patient. This effectively outlaws telemedicine where scheduled medicines are involved.
* Finally, the Act provides the states with a new enforcement authority that allows the attorney general to shut down any site which violates the law.

 

The above basically means that any online pharmacy which sells controlled drugs without requiring a prescription, without publishing verifiable contact information is a rogue pharmacy and buying medicine from them is considered illegal.

However, while it is illegal (and there is a risk of scam as well) to buy controlled substances without a prescription, it does not necessarily mean that the customer who got caught purchasing a controlled substance would have to face penalties (which in theory can be up to $250.000 and 5 years in prison).

The Food and Drugs Administration itself have stated that they allow certain shipments if they decide they are not harmful or meant for distribution:
“FDA personnel may use their discretion to allow entry of shipments of violative FDA regulated products when the quantity and purpose are clearly for personal use, and the product does not present an unreasonable risk to the user. Even though all products that appear to be in violation of statutes administered by FDA are subject to refusal, FDA personnel may use their discretion to examine the background, risk, and purpose of the product before making a final decision. Although FDA may use discretion to allow admission of certain violative items, this should not be interpreted as a license to individuals to bring in such shipments.”

 

That said, the risk of legal action taken against the buyer is still there. Buying really small orders would probably be on the safer side.
For more information about legality of buying medicines online, I would like to recommend this forum thread here: Pharmacy Reviewer Legality of Ordering From Online Pharmacies FAQ, inlcuding ordering from a no prescription required online pharmacy.

Filed Under: Legal issues relating to online pharmacies Tagged With: domestic online pharmacies, international online pharmacies, legal issues, mail order pharmacy, no record online pharmacies, offshore online pharmacies

Different types of online pharmacies

Posted on March 4, 2014 Written by Jack Wilson Leave a Comment

Ordering medicine online can be a real headache for those who have never dealt with online pharmacies before. Not knowing the advantages and disadvantages of various online pharmacy types could lead to money wasted, drugs not arriving or even legal issues. So here is a short list of the main types of pharmacies:

* Record-requiring pharmacies (most domestic (US) pharmacies): These pharmacies will sell over the counter medicines, but will not sell controlled medicines unless a prescription from a valid, face-to-face doctor is provided. If you have a prescription or need something basic, then just find the one pharmacy that sells cheapest/has the best service and order from them. There is a good tool to find the cheapest drugs on the main page of Pharmacy Reviewer.

* No record required pharmacies (mostly offshore pharmacies): These pharmacies will sell regular over the counter drugs as well as prescription drugs, but will generally not require a prescription, or minimal documents or online consultation (mostly just to satisfy legal requirements). These pharmacies can be unreliable and there have been cases of them, or their credit card processing company, stealing customers’ credit card information. However, there are many of these pharmacies that have grown to become reliable enough and many of them sell medicines sometimes much cheaper than domestic pharmacies do.

* Email pharmacies: This is the most volatile pharmacy type of them all. You can get whatever you want without any prescriptions, but the risks of losing money is the highest and the risk of legal problems is probably even higher than with the regular no record required pharmacies, because email pharmacies are often run by drug cartels and in case they are caught, you could end up on the radar of law enforcement agencies if the email vendors computer records were obtained.

The general advice is, find the cheapest, legitimate source, if you can. If you cannot, then look for a reliable off-shore source. Just don’t forget to read feedback and reviews left by people who have already experienced buying at online pharmacies.

Filed Under: General information about online pharmacies Tagged With: domestic online pharmacies, international online pharmacies, no record online pharmacies, offshore online pharmacies

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