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including whether the patient has other health concerns which might be affected by a prescription drug.

some pharmacies have been known to sell expired or counterfeit medication

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.

The interstate shipment, including importation, of unapproved new drugs is prohibited in the U.S. "Unapproved" drugs are any medicines that have not received the FDA's approval and include foreign-made versions of U.S.-approved drugs. Controlled substances including, but not limited to, tranquilizers and pain killers, are under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Drug Enforcement

The states’ attorneys general actions against online pharmacies all have been based on similar legal theories concerning violating state licensing laws and laws requiring doctors to prescribe only medications pursuant to bona fide physician-patient relationships[17].