Mail fraud

All online pharmacies sell through the internet but must ship the product usually via the mail. The selling of many class (schedule)^[26] drugs without a valid prescription (also called Rx-only drugs or legend drugs) is illegal and companies shipping them by mail can be prosecuted for mail fraud (Postal Inspection service) as well as investigations and Federal charges by the DEA, IRS, Homeland Security, Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigations, Department of Justice, INTERPOL,^[27] and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE),^[28] and it is common practice for many agencies to jointly investigate alleged crimes.^[29]

Uk consumers

In the UK more than 2 million people buy drugs regularly over the internet from online pharmacies; some are legitimate but others have "dangerous practices" that could endanger children.^[30] In 2008, the RPSGB introduced a green cross logo to help identify accredited online pharmacies (from 2010 the internet pharmacy logo scheme is run by the GPhC).^[31]

European registered pharmacists have reciprocal agreements allowing them to practice in the UK by simply getting registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council.

The first internet pharmacy in the UK was Pharmacy2U, which started operating in November 1999.^[32] The UK is a frontline leader in internet pharmacy since a change to NHS pharmacy regulations in 2005 that made it legal for pharmacies to fill NHS prescriptions over the internet.^[33] Drugs supplied in this way tend to be medicines which doctors refuse to prescribe for patients, or would charge a private prescription fee, as all patients treated under the National Health Service pay either a low flat price or nothing for prescribed medicine (except for medicine classed as lifestyle medicine, e.g. anti-malarials for travel), and medical equipment.^{[citation needed]}

In the UK, online pharmacies often link up with online clinic doctors. Doctors carry out online consultations and issue prescriptions.^[34] The company employing the doctors must be registered with the Care Quality Commission. Online clinics only prescribe a limited number of medicines and do not replace regular doctors working from surgeries. There are various ways the doctors carry out the online consultations; sometimes it is done almost entirely by questionnaire. Customers usually pay one fee which includes the price of the consultation, prescription and the price of the medicine.

See also

• The Silk Road (anonymous marketplace), an online marketplace thought to facilitate the anonymous sale of illegal drugs

• Internet fraud

References

1. ^ Black, J. C.; Layoff, T. "Summer of 1995 – Mailbox Temperature Excurions of St Louis". US FDA Division of Drug Analysis. http://www.layloff.net/articles/1995%20Mailbox%20Temp%20in%20STL.pdf. Retrieved 12 July 2011.

2. ^ Counterfeit medical products, WHO; Report by the Secretariat, A61/16, 7 April 2008.

3. ^ Mark Davison, "Pharmaceutical Anti-Counterfeiting: Combating the Real Danger from Fake Drugs", Wiley, 2011, 426pp

4. ^ "FDA Alerts Consumers to Unsafe, Misrepresented Drugs Purchased Over the Internet". US FDA. February 2007. http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/2007/ucm108846.htm. Retrieved 14 July 2011.

5. ^ "FDA Operation Reveals Many Drugs Promoted as "Canadian" Products Really Originate From Other Countries". US FDA. December, 2005. http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/2005/ucm108534.htm. Retrieved 14 July 2011.

6. ^ Griffin, R. M. (October, 2010). "Beyond the Pharmacy, Oneline and mail-order prescription drugs". Web MD. http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/features/beyond-the-pharmacy-online-and-mail-order-prescription-drugs. Retrieved 14 July 2011.

7. ^ Internet pharmacies get go-ahead

8. ^ Online pharmacy warning

9. ^ With Record Number of Uninsured, Americans Turn to Foreign Pharmacies, Yahoo News, June 11, 2008

10. ^ Millions of Americans Look Outside U.S. For Drugs, Washington Post, Oct. 23, 2003

11. ^ http://www.harrisinteractive.com/news/allnewsbydate.asp?NewsID=1092 Harris Interactive, Sept 16 2006

12. ^ http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSTRE51P53920090226 Reuters, Obama’s budget supports drug import plana, Feb 26 2009

13. ^ Risks in Ordering Drugs by Internet on the Rise Newswise, Retrieved on July 20, 2008.

14. ^ http://www.vipps.info

15. ^ http://www.fda.gov/drugs/resourcesforyou/ucm080588.htm

16. ^ http://www.legitscript.com

17. ^ See Regulatory Procedures Manual March 2010 page 9–83 for sample package detention notification letter

18. ^ Prescription drugs: Preliminary Observations on Efforts to Enforce the Prohibitions on Personal Importation

19. ^ " Seized drugs being released", Los Angeles Times, March 1, 2006

20. ^ FDA guidance — Coverage of Personal Importations

21. ^ "So is buying prescription drugs online illegal?", WAFB, June 3, 2005

22. ^ FDA's policy on importation on drugs

23. ^ Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, Chapter VIII — Imports And Exports

24. ^ FDA Traveler Alert — Importation of Prescription Medicines/Drugs

25. ^ Nevada online pharmacy approval-Retrieved 2012-12-29

26. ^ Drug schedules- Retrieved 2012-12-29

27. ^ NJ.com-Retrieved 2012-12-29

28. ^ [1]- Retrieved 2012-12-29

29. ^ [2]- Retrieved 2012-12-29

30. ^ "eBay medicines 'a risk to child health': Study warns of danger from drugs bought on net" "The Observer", June 21, 2009

31. ^ "Internet pharmacy logo"GPhC

32. ^ UK's First Online Pharmacy Opens, BBC November 27, 1999

33. ^ http://www.psnc.org.uk/pages/internet_pharmacy_faqs.html

34. ^ http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/aug/6/british-patients-click-online-to-see-doctor/