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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 10 of 10. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by GreyCow on June 16, 2004, at 12:27:09
I am curious if anyone knows of a legitimate site that I can order prescription meds (Xanax/Alprazoloam in my case) without a prescription?
I have seen my pdoc enough times now to know that I don't need to pay $85 bucks for 10 minutes just for my pdoc to say "Hi, how you doing? Everything great? Good, here's your prescription paper, goodbye."
Are there any legitimate online pharmacies (non-rogue sites) that don't require a prescription to order meds?
Thanks for any help.
Posted by captain on June 16, 2004, at 13:39:53
In reply to Ordering Online w/out a Prescription, posted by GreyCow on June 16, 2004, at 12:27:09
xxx
I would love to know the answer to this as well. I did see this on ebay. (the link above) The seller has 100% positive feedback from over 200 people so I am assuming it is ligit info. It is just info on HOW to get it online.
Good luck! I will check back to see what people say!
Posted by King Vultan on June 16, 2004, at 17:14:02
In reply to Ordering Online w/out a Prescription, posted by GreyCow on June 16, 2004, at 12:27:09
> I am curious if anyone knows of a legitimate site that I can order prescription meds (Xanax/Alprazoloam in my case) without a prescription?
>
> I have seen my pdoc enough times now to know that I don't need to pay $85 bucks for 10 minutes just for my pdoc to say "Hi, how you doing? Everything great? Good, here's your prescription paper, goodbye."
>
> Are there any legitimate online pharmacies (non-rogue sites) that don't require a prescription to order meds?
>
> Thanks for any help.
Well, Xanax is a controlled substance, and the mail order company that my insurance company uses will not let people request controlled substances on line. They say to contact the physician directly. I don't use the mail order system and don't know if this is an industry standard or not, but it seems probable.Controlled substances may have different rules, but for ordinary meds that you have taken/are taking, you can always call the doctor's office and ask if they will please write a prescription for you. I guess they can call it into the pharmacy for you, too. Perhaps for controlled substances, you might actually have to meet the physician face to face, but if the med is something that is used regularly, like Ritalin for ADD, my understanding is that the physician can write multiple prescriptions and give them to you. If it's something that's only occasionally used as Valium might be, that might be more of a problem, but as I indicated, my knowledge of the rules governing controlled substances is rather limited.
I will say that I would only deal with legitimate on-line pharmacies that are clearly on the up and up. I would find it hard to trust an outfit that didn't require a prescription from my doctor.
Todd
Posted by GreyCow on June 16, 2004, at 19:41:24
In reply to Re: Ordering Online w/out a Prescription, posted by King Vultan on June 16, 2004, at 17:14:02
Well, I wouldn't mind filling out a survey or questionaire to get the prescription online. It's just really expensive to pay $85 to a pdoc to just scribble on a piece of paper, when I already know how much I can take.
Has anyone ordered Xanax online before without a prescription or through an online process of filling out a consultation form or some kind? Let me know. Thanks.
-GreyCow
Posted by Tony C. on June 16, 2004, at 20:56:50
In reply to Re: Ordering Online w/out a Prescription, posted by GreyCow on June 16, 2004, at 19:41:24
Yes my EX P-DOC used to charge me like $100 to $150 for a 1/2 hour appointment. If my appointment was at 1:00pm I would go in at 1:00pm sit in there all by myself till about 1:25PM he would come in say Hi, how do you feel ? Here is your prescription and I would get 5 ACTUAL minutes with him personally, yet my insurance was charged $100 to $150 for a FULL 1/2 hour Now that was depressing to me.
Best wishes - Tony C.
Posted by chemist on June 16, 2004, at 23:44:42
In reply to Ordering Online w/out a Prescription, posted by GreyCow on June 16, 2004, at 12:27:09
hello there, chemist here. xanax is a schedule IV med, and i would not encourage you do do as you are suggesting. what i suggest is that you see your pdoc and ask for a script with, say, 2 refills. this means you don't have to show up and shell out $85 each time, and you are not in violation of federal drug trafficking laws. all the best, chemist
Posted by Anthony Quest on June 17, 2004, at 2:00:53
In reply to Re: Ordering Online w/out a Prescription » GreyCow, posted by chemist on June 16, 2004, at 23:44:42
As a law student, I'll attempt to answer this one.
Under federal law, Xanax (alprazolam) is a controlled substance, and it is a criminal offense for any entity to dispense it online or otherwise without a prescription.
The short answer to your question is that it is always illegal and not legitimate for any "pharmacy" to "dispense" a controlled substance without a prescription.
I can group into three the ways, you might obtain Xanax online.
First, legitimate on-line pharmacies like Medco Health, Walgreens, CVS, and many others operate website and "online" pharmacies whereby you can mail or your doctor can fax to the pharmacy a prescription. For example, you could have your doctor write a prescription for a 90 day supply of Xanax with 3 refills. You could then mail it to one of those pharmacies and then order you next refill online. (But I know this is not the type of pharmacy you mean).
The operations that offer you Xanax and other drugs without a "prescription" actually try to skirt the law by on-line questionnaires reviewed by a doctor. In fact, the website pharmacies are operated in tandem with a crooked doctor who agrees to review the questionnaires and write a prescription for the people who order the drugs. So in fact, you are receiving the drugs pursuant to a "prescription" - or so the websites would like to believe.
In the early days of the internet, there was nothing in state law (all pharmacy law is regulated by states not federal government) that prohibited a doctor from issuing a prescription pursuant to an online questionaire - at least no explicitly. However, all pharmacy law for the most part required that doctors only write prescriptions after establishing a "doctor-patient" relationship.
When online pharmacies first appeared, doctors argued the online questionaires were legitimate means of establishing between you and the doctor who reviewed the questionaire a "Doctor-patient" relationship. However, states didn't buy this argument and began to issue administrative rules and I imagine many states have passed laws stating that online consultations are not sufficient to establish a "doctor-patient" relationship. Hence, if a doctor writes a prescription based solely on an internet questionaire, the doctor is essentially trafficking in drugs and can be prosecuted just like a drug dealer. (Some websites now ask that patients fax some medical records, and they hope this will establish a doctor-patient relationship. My guess is that this is going to completely fail and will not protect the doctor at all).
However, the more interesting question is what liability do you incur. It is clear that the doctors get in big trouble - jail, loss of license, et cetera. At least when I was clerking for the state board of pharmacy, there were no prosecutions in my state of the people who ordered the drugs. The state and federal government has limited resources and can't keep up with these websites. They simply don't have resources to prosecute all the doctors and as far as I know, most people who order don't have to fear jail (although it's a real risk).
The only defense (which you have now probably lost after reading my post) is lack of criminal intent. In order to be guilty of a crime, one must have "mens rea" or a guilty conscience. I.E. there must be "criminal intent". Thus, a defense of a "patient" could be that you had no idea you were breaking the law by ordering drugs from an online pharmacy. This is seldom successful although it might work in the situation.
The real fear you should have is the quality of the medications you receive. Any website that is sending you drugs without more than an online consultation is basically a criminal outfit. They may well send you tainted drugs or may just take your money and send you nothing at all. They could take your credit card and use it to buy a plane ticket somewhere. Who knows. You have no recourse and you have no regulation of the drugs you are receiving. All in all - bad idea.
The third type of outfit you might encounter is a website that offers to send a paramedic or nurse or some sort of medical technician out to your house to take your blood pressure, etc. You pay a one time fee for this physical and then the doctor whom you never meets writes prescriptions for you. The purpose behind this operation is to try to argue that there was an actual in person examination and it was not totally online. I do not know yet whether these operations have been prosecuted and if so whether they have successfully defended themselves based on the defense that there was some sort of physical. If I had to take a guess, I would say it is doubtful that this is going to work out for the doctors involved. They'll be in jail for a while to come no doubt.
Incidentally the people who run these websites often pocket 10-12 million dollars before being shut-down. It's hard for the gov't to find all the money they collect, and some people calculate,"if I can get hide 2 million, it might be worth a few years in jail". Why subsidize these criminals. You can find plenty of doctors who will prescribe these medications to you licitly and after a true medical exam.
My advice is never ever order from an illicit online pharmacy. You are basically giving your credit card to a criminal in the hopes they will send you the actual drug you are requesting. You have no guarantees at all if anything goes wrong. Also, at some point, the government will decide it needs to make an example of those who buy drugs and not just go after the doctors. The database with your personal information will exist in cyberspace forever. Do you want to spend the rest of your life wondering if/when you'll get in trouble?
Well, this was more than you probably wanted to know. Obviously this is not legal advice, not the basis of an attorney-client relationship, and you should not rely on this information as authoritative.
Posted by Glydin on June 17, 2004, at 7:07:09
In reply to Re: Ordering Online w/out a Prescription, posted by Anthony Quest on June 17, 2004, at 2:00:53
Also, the fact that fact that face to face monitoring with use of a controlled substance is critical to the proper use of such preparations. As a long time user of such meds, I feel to avoid problems, follow up is a must. I feel the disturbing trend of a self service obtaining of these type of meds muddies the waters for legit and safe use and gives fuel to inapproiate use. I understand how it seems silly to fork out money for a doctor visit for a script, but I feel it is essential to avoid difficulties. By passing the middle man isn't a good idea.
Posted by King Vultan on June 17, 2004, at 7:51:58
In reply to Re: Ordering Online w/out a Prescription, posted by Anthony Quest on June 17, 2004, at 2:00:53
Posted by Dr. Bob on June 19, 2004, at 22:18:40
In reply to Ordering Online w/out a Prescription, posted by GreyCow on June 16, 2004, at 12:27:09
> I am curious if anyone knows of a legitimate site that I can order prescription meds (Xanax/Alprazoloam in my case) without a prescription?
Please don't use this site to exchange information that could be used to import into the US prescription medication without a prescription:
http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/faq.html#illegal
Thanks,
Bob
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