Federal law prohibits buying controlled substances such as narcotic pain
relievers (e.g., OxyContin®, Vicodin ®), sedatives (e.g., Valium®, Xanax®,
Ambien®), stimulants (e.g., phentermine, phendimetrazine, Adderall®, Ritalin®)
and anabolic steroids (e.g., Winstrol®, Equipoise®) without a valid prescription
from your doctor. This means there must be a real doctor-patient relationship,
which by most state laws requires a physical examination. Prescriptions written
by "cyber doctors" relying on online questionnaires are not legitimate under the
law.
Buying controlled substances online without a valid prescription may be
punishable by imprisonment under Federal law. Often drugs ordered from rogue
websites come from foreign countries. It is a felony to import drugs into the
United States and ship to a non-DEA registrant.
Buying drugs online may not be only illegal, but dangerous. The American
Medical Association and state boards of medicine and pharmacy have all condemned
the practice of cyber doctors issuing online prescriptions as unacceptable
medical care. Drugs delivered by rogue websites may be the wrong drugs,
adulterated or expired, the wrong dosage strength, or have no dosage directions
or warnings.
Sarah Cooper on 11 Apr 10Self-diagnosis is often prone to error, and this is usually because of one simple reason: neither you nor your computer is a trained physician.
Nick Orsini on 20 Apr 10Good article on the dangers of self-diagnosis.
