I have a classified ads script on my site, and anyone can post ads in various categories. It sends me mail when people make new ads, and tonight I got notified of an ad in the “health” section.
The site being advertised is http://www.endlessmeds.com * It offers for sale a list of ways to order medications from overseas without prescriptions. It claims it is legal… now… is it? And does it work, legal or not?
*I am in no way affiliated with this site, I just heard of it tonight when someone put an ad for it in my classifieds.
Opalkitty, you may be asking the wrong question. Is it ethical?
Chances are it isn’t legal, as you are dealing with local, county, state, federal, and international law.
But really, if it were legal, would you feel right about this ad?
Actually I have no problem with the ad itself. What people do is their own business (yes, I’m one of those pro-drug-legalization freaks) so regardless, I’ll leave the ad in place.
I’m just curious as to whether or not you actually CAN order these things from foreign countries, and if so, if it is legal.
But do you realy think that the government would let you off as an “innocent bystander” in it’s current mood? They would claim that you were a guilty party in the traffic of illegal drugs.
And by ethically, I meant that since you couldn’t vouch for the source or the purity of the medicine, you shouldn’t let your website be used as a conduit.
Problems with this?
First, you can’t buy valium from anywhere for yourself without a perscription. Not legally anyway. It’s a controlled substance in this country, so anyone in the US buying items like that via the internet is breaking the law (you also cannot posses these items without a prescription). I personally would bag the ad just in case. Sounds pretty figgin’ fishy and I’de hate for you to get caught up in something bad.
(This could be a guy in his garage stealing drugs and re-selling them. Or selling old medicine)
Sounds bad all around.
A friend is someone who likes you even though you’re as ugly as a hat full of assholes. Zettecity
Well to settle this matter, so we don’t have to discuss it anymore (since I didn’t bring this up with that discussion in mind) I am NOT taking down the ad. The ad sells a BOOK (or at least a packet of info, not sure how it is bound) about how to get the drugs, it does not sell the drugs themselves. We can stop discussing what should be done about the ad because nothing is going to be done. I wish I hadn’t mentioned the fact that this came from an ad on my site, since I just want to discuss the actual concept itself, not the damn ad, already. I really don’t CARE what you think I should do about the ad.
I don’t know if it is legal or not. My guess would be there are probably loops that can be snuck through. On another note, ads like these are not as evil and seedy as you may think. My mother is a nurse in a town made up mostly of portuguese immigrants, she is also bi-lingual. She often helps out with injections and translating prescription dosages. Often times these are drugs that are perfectly accessable to these people in their homeland, but not here due to FDA requirements,etc. etc. So they have no choice but to seek “underground” medical assistance.
I know you said you really didn’t care about the ethics, sorry i couldn’t help out with the legality, just thought I’d let the others know there are 2 sides to every coin…
so you found a girl who thinks really deep thoughts. what’s so amazing about really deep thoughts? Tori Amos
Thanks psycat. I agree with that and also that there are times when it is hard to get a prescription for somehting you need. For example, I need pain medicine for my knees that I can’t get. I have to stay in bed sometimes for days at a time because I CAN’T get up. I have to have my husband help me walk to the bathroom to pee. But no one will write me a prescription for it without me seeing a specialist, which I can’t do right now since I have no insurance. So… when I get my teeth worked on, which hurts like HELL , sometimes I’ll just live with the pain and save the pills for my knees. It would be nice to have an alternative way of getting medication. Legal? maybe not, but it beats being in pain.
Good points Opal and Psycat90. I too have had occasion to need a few prescription painkillers for legitimate reasons and have had hoops to jump through to get them that I’d rather not deal with. What’s the big freaking deal? Sometimes doctors and the FDA go too far to try to protect us against ourselves and perceived evils.
A note to OpalCat: if you haven’t already, I would suggest a quick conversation with your lawyer concerning liability issues with ads on your website.
If you recall, Soldier of Fortune magazine was held liable for an ad in their classified section. Of course, the subject in question is completely different, but the point is it now seems legally possible to blame the medium for the message.
While the book’s instructions might skirt the law a bit, I don’t think it’s illegal to host a classified ad that offers it for sale.
I’ve bought much worse at the army surplus store - books about lockpicking, how to obtain fake identification, evasive driving, and even how to make bombs. While the subject matter might be iffy, they’re not responsible for what you do with the information.
It is illegal to import a drug into the U.S.A. that you don’t have a prescription for that the FDA considers a prescription drug. People order drugs and have it sent. Most people don’t get caught.
Selling the book is not illegal.
OpalCat: I know where your coming from. I had to decide medicine or replace two bald tires. I don’t know how to pay for the last two specialists I saw either.
Kay Sah Rah Sah Rah. What ever will be will be.
Translation: Life can suck, your still alive and that’s what counts.
You can get manny of those drugs legally and a lot cheaper in a Juarez drugstore. What would louse it up for most people would be the airplane fare.
Quite a number of older people along the border get their proscriptions filled in Mexico because the identical drugs (from the same labs–Lilly, Upjohn, Merck, etc.) cost 50% to 75% less. When the monthly breadwinner is a Social Security check, the Mexican drugstores might be the only way some folks could afford those drugs.
According to a FOX news report of the subject, it is legal to order prescription drugs and to receive them through the mail from foreign countries. Some countries do not require a physician to ‘order’ the drug for you like here – apparently not particullarly interested in what one does with it. Some countries allow the pharmacy to write their own prescriptions for you at your request. (Here, pharmacists do have the legal right to prescribe – thanks to congress slamming a law through so fast that most of us did not know about it until it was approved – but most reliable ones will not do so.) The biggist problem with over seas prescriptions is that most of the countries do not have the strict quality control we pratice here in the states. Many foreign countries have not all that much reguard for human life or health, especially in nations with massive poor populations that are considered a surplus and a liability. One might order .50mgm Xanax and get .75 or .25 looking like .50. Plus, many drugs use inert fillers to shape and form the tablet because the actual dosage is so minute that the average person would have trouble handling the tiny pill. Here, those fillers are closely regulated. Over seas, in many countries, they are not. Instead of something like canuba wax, one might get a pill filler of talc or plaster. It all depends on the country. England, Australia, Canada, Germany, Sweeden, Norway and Belguim are all pretty good about their regulations. One never knows with France, and should be suspicious about China, any middle east country, Mexico, African nations, Japan and especially the current Russia. Tiwan, Vietnam, Korea are areas to be VERY suspicious of.
Don’t get me started on that insurance BS. Why can’t we be like Canada and have socialized medicine and give everyone health care? Because the insurance companies pay off the congressmen, that’s why.
But that’s another subject.
What kind of medicine do you need for your pain? Something like percocet or lortab?
If so, I’ve found non-prescription ketoprofen containing medicines (e.g Orudis KT) at least as effective as the opiods. It doesn’t give you that warm, fuzzy feeling you’ll get from munching 3 or 4 yummy oxycodone pills, but I find that it works on pains that ibuprofen(Advil) and aceteminophen(Tylenol) can’t touch.
Oh, BTW, I forgot to mention that I’ve seen that same “prescription drugs from other countries book” ad in High Times. Costs like $30 or so for the book, right?
Practically every ad in High Times is a pathetic atttempt to dupe unsuspecting stoners into forking over their money on something stupid (like fake, so-called “legal alternatives” to pot that give you about the same buzz you’d get from half a beer or a couple of ephedrine[mini thins] pills.)
So if I had to guess, I’d say it’s a scam.
I can relate to your problems, though. I work full time at a permanent job through a temp agency and get NO benefits. (If I want insurace, it’ll cost me $75 a week!!) I need major dental work and if it weren’t for my grandmother bailing me out, I’d be up poop creek without the Charmin.
