Google Under Fire! Prescrption Drug Ads Causing Problems

According to a recent article on the Huffington Post, Google is under criminal investigating for allowing ads for that link to illegal online pharmacies.  These pharmacies are selling expired, counterfeit medication or sites that claim no prescription necessary.

The $500 million Google may be required to pay would be unprecedented: According to the Wall Street Journal, “A payment of that size would be among the highest penalties paid by companies in disputes with the U.S. government.”

You read that right- $500 million in fines! Read the entire article here.

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Prescription Medication Checkout Checklist

Before you make buy pharmaceuticals online, make sure your online or in house pharmacy has everything on the lPre-purchase Checklistist below.

  • Make sure the site REQUIRES a prescription, either verified with your doctor or written electronically by their doctor, for any prescription medication.  You can get repeat prescriptions online, but the site should still require information about your original prescription from your local doctor.
  • Search on the site or call in to find out where the medication is manufactured and if it’s FDA approved  (Name brands manfactured from foreign sources aren’t necessarily the same as U.S. brands) 
  • Make sure that the doctors and pharmacies are accredited and based in the U.S.
  • Be certain that the medication you want can actually be shipped to your state.  Each state has their own shipping restrictions on medication so don’t buy from a site that does not follow these regulations.  Legal online pharmacies should provide shipping information on their site.
  • Look for complete contact information and attempt to call the customer service line.  A good online pharmacy should answer the phone. 
  • Review the privacy and return policies, terms and conditions and customer responsibility agreement before you place your order
  • Make sure there is no membership required or hidden fees.  A good online pharmacy will not require you to pay a membership fee to buy pharmaceuticals online.
  • When placing your order online make sure the order form browser window read https://… Not just http://… (the ‘s’ on the end designates you’re using a secure server and your information cannot be viewed by 3rd parties online)
  • Don’t give out your credit card information out until your sure they are legitimate!

If you can check off everything on this list, then you can be confident that you are buying your prescription medication online safely.

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White House Blocking Access to Non-US Online Pharmacies?

It looks like new a new bill has been proposed to make it illegal for US citizens to order prescription medication from online overseas pharmacies, including Canadian Pharmacies.   However, a company called PharmacyChecker.com, which advocates safe and legal purchase of pharmaceuticals online, has launched a campaign to try to stop this law from being enacted.  According to a press release, prescription medication is getting too expensive for many American, who are turning now to online options.   You can read the article and find the link to their campaign here.

Research shows that drugs ordered online from properly verified pharmacies in many countries, such as Canada, are just as genuine and safe as those in the U.S., but their prices are lower. There are also rogues that sell counterfeits. Unfortunately, rather than focus on the counterfeiters, the White House’s IP czar is looking to block all non-U.S. online pharmacies and force Americans to pay top-dollar for their medicines

Am I on board with making all non-US online pharmacies illegal?  I am not sure.  I have and always advocated buying from an US based online pharmacy, however it’s true that if you are not being covered by insurance, the cost can get out of hand.   However, I would like PharmacyChecker.com to give me some statistics about how many people have gotten ill or been scammed from fake or illegitamte overseas pharmacies.    Also, I want to see some stats about how many legitmate overseas online pharmacies are there compared fake ones?  If more people are getting scammedthan are being helped, then shouldn’t redirect people’s money out of the hands of fraudulence and towards a source that will actually provide them with medication? On the other hand, purchasing prescription medication always has been a  ”buyer beware” industry, which is why I started this log in the hop that educated consumers are able to make the right choices for themselves.  I’m on the fence about this new bill, what do you think?

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60 Minutes Investigates Counterfit Prescription Medication

60 Minutes did a great story about the rising danger of counterfit prescription drugs in the US, many which are sold by illegimate online pharmacies. Look out for canadian pharmacy scams!

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