Note please see the FAQ entry, "Is it legal to buy controlled substances over the internet for delivery to the US?" for background to this article.

The “Ryan Haight Act” is potentially very significant for those US citizens who plan to purchase controlled medicines over the internet after April 15th 2009 for delivery to a US address (the bill is not retroactive). Here is a link to the full text of the Act.

The Act attempts to outlaw online consultations without a face-to-face physical examination by tightening the description of a prescription to specifically exclude “prescriptions” issued following internet-only consultations.Under the Ryan Haight Online Pharmacy Protection Act you would be buying controlled substances without a prescription if you purchased them from an online pharmacy, you would therefore be breaking the Controlled Substances Act and potentially at risk of prosecution if caught doing so. However it remains to be seen how the Ryan Haight Act will be implemented by the federal authorities. There are states like Florida which probably have many thousands of residents who have purchased controlled medicines over the internet in the past; if they were to do so again after the Ryan Haight Act has been passed they could in theory be prosecuted en masse. But Florida is a swing state politically and this might lose votes, so it is unlikely to happen in my judgement, but that is simply my best guess and as with all material on this site should definitely NOT be construed as legal advice! Additionally Congress’s intention to facilitate the prosecution of distributors of controlled substances, rather than those who order them over the internet, is suggested by the way that the Ryan Haight Act does not modify the penalties for consumers importing controlled substances from abroad, via purchasing through foreign online pharmacies.

- Jack A. Wilson, February 13th 2009

Disclaimer: Pharmacyreviewer.com does not promote the purchase of controlled substances. Furthermore it is not in contravention of the Ryan Haight Act because the Act clearly states that “the placement on the Internet of material that merely advocates the use of a controlled substance or includes pricing information without attempting to propose or facilitate an actual transaction involving a controlled substance” is not illegal under the Act. (Section 311, paragraph f, sub-section 3, paragraph A, sub-section iii).
Furthermore pharmacyreviewer.com is obviously not an online pharmacy, nor is it under the legal definitions of the Ryan Haight Act for it falls under section 3 clause 52 paragraph B subparagraph vii which states that “a person, entity, or Internet site that is not in the United States and does not facilitate the delivery, distribution, or dispensing of a controlled substance by means of the Internet to any person in the United States;” is not an online pharmacy for the purposes of the Act.
The content on this page does not constitute legal advice and is for informational purposes only. You should not act upon the information presented on this website without seeking the advice of qualified legal counsel.

If you wish to quote a few sentences from this page please give full attibution and a link back here from your page. Protected by copyalert.com.