Note this article is addressed to U.S. residents as they make up the bulk of visitors to pharmacyreviewer.com.

For users of pharmacyreviewer.com who live in the U.S. and wish to purchase non-controlled medicines over the internet (non-controlled drugs = viagra etc., antidepressants, antibiotics, hair loss drugs, antiviral drugs, basically almost everything except some sleeping pills, some powerful painkillers, slimming drugs and steroids, see the link to the full list below) who wish to know the legal situation for non-controlled medicines, please see this FAQ entry instead.

Users of pharmacyreviewer.com who wish to purchase controlled medicines over the internet should be aware of whether they are breaking the law by doing so. Unfortunately the law is far from clear at present, but will be clarified slightly on April 16th 2009 when the Ryan Haight Online Pharmacy Protection Act comes into force (more on this below). It should be noted that we are presently unaware of any cases where individuals have been prosecuted for buying controlled substances from foreign online pharmacies; the present course of action that the Drugs Enforcement Agency (DEA) seems to take is not to prosecute those who have had packages intercepted by US customs, but merely to confiscate the goods, and send the intended recipient a note that their delivery was seized, nothing more. The customer can then typically fax this note back to the online pharmacy, who will then typically re-ship the goods in question (if they are a reliable online pharmacy such as those listed on pharmacyreviewer.com).

However, many cases had been brought by the DEA against doctors, pharmacists, and website owners under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). 21 U.S.C. 801-971. The CSA governs the manufacture, distribution, and dispensing of controlled substances. This law classifies controlled substances into five “schedules,” depending upon their degree of potential addiction and abuse, with Schedule I drugs being the most addictive. Schedule III includes, for example, hydrocodone (Vicodin). Schedule IV includes, for example, Alprazolam (Xanax) and Zolpidem (Ambien). For a list of controlled substances click here. The CSA generally makes it illegal to distribute any of the scheduled drugs; however, it exempts from prosecution those individuals that have licenses to distribute controlled Schedule III and IV substances with a valid prescription. But, even these cases have frequently been unsuccessful because the law is vague. As Donald R. Cooley, (a lawyer specialising in internet pharmacy law) states on his website, the flaw in the CSA is that the meaning of the word “prescription” is not clear in the law, but yet the whole basis for prosecution rests upon whether the doctor, pharmacist, or website owner has been distributing controlled substances without a valid prescription. It has not become clear from cases which have come before the courts whether the online questionnaires that online pharmacies require first-time customers to fill out before purchasing constitute a prescription, (after they have been reviewed by a medical professional employed by the online pharmacy, which is what always happens if one is to believe the online pharmacies). The law states that a prescription “must be issued for a legitimate medical purpose by an individual practitioner acting in the usual course of his professional practice”, but this could conceivably cover medical professionals employed by online pharmacies. The passage of the Ryan Haight Online Pharmacy Act indicates that lawmakers believed that the law was sufficiently vague that, in order to conclusively prosecute doctors, pharmacists, and website owners who distribute controlled substances over the Internet, a new law was necessary. This implies that, up until the Ryan Haight Online Pharmacy Act comes into force on April 16th 2009, it will be difficult to prosecute US doctors, pharmacists, and website owners who distribute controlled substances over the internet, as long as they write a “prescription” for the customer (however many prosecutions have already been succesfully made by the DEA).

How will the Ryan Haight Online Pharmacy Act affect U.S. consumers of controlled medicines?

But “wait” I hear you say! “I don’t care about whether wayward pharmacists or website owners will get prosecuted, I care about whether I will get prosecuted for buying controlled substances over the internet!”. That is entirely understandable dear Reader! The “Ryan Haight Act” is potentially very significant here. It attempts to outlaw online consultations without a face to face physical examination by tightening the description of a prescription to specifically exclude internet-only consultations. For more information please see the full FAQ entry How will the Ryan Haight Online Pharmacy Act affect U.S. consumers of controlled medicines?

- Jack A. Wilson, February 13th 2009

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.