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Legal issues with promoting online pharmacies?

by iconoclast
9 replies
In the past, I have purchased one of my prescription medications from an online pharmacy without a prescription. Could I get into legal trouble if I promote an online pharmacy and tell people where I bought my meds from?
#issues #legal #online #pharmacies #promoting
  • Profile picture of the author BrandonLee
    I don't think that most people end up in legal trouble from it to be honest, but why would you want to do that when there are so many other ways to make money?

    We all make our own choices, and so whatever we do is our own fault - but I can tell you from personal experience that getting addicted to pain pills and then going through the whole online pharmacy thing without scripts is the most miserable thing in the world and it's hell on families too. Eventually you just become the walking dead, it's just awful, and I wouldn't want any part of that business.

    If you have different feelings, or if I'm totally misreading what you want to promote then please accept my apologies - but anyway like I said, I think there are just so many other opportunities to make money there is no need to get anywhere near a market like that.

    Good luck to you no matter what you do.
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    • Profile picture of the author rhealy29
      A pharmacy that will fill imaginary prescriptions = deaths waiting to happen.

      Agree with the above poster. I won't try to push my own ethical view on that on you, but I'd think very carefully about the possible consequences that could come from a pharmacy operating like that, and then ask myself if I really want to be associated with it.
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  • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
    Banned
    Originally Posted by iconoclast View Post

    Could I get into legal trouble ...
    I think only a lawyer can answer this, and that it's going to vary from country to country anyway, and that there are also potential kinds of trouble other than just "legal" which you might be well advised to take into account, too.

    I have to say I wouldn't do this, and would easily decide that without needing any legal advice, for myself.
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    • Profile picture of the author Cali16
      There's a very good reason that a prescription is required in order to purchase non-OTC medications. Your personal and family medical history, your current health, and other medications and supplements that you are taking all play a major role in determining whether or not a specific medication is safe for you to take. Ignoring all of this and buying medications without a prescription can be very dangerous. Only a qualified medical professional has the training to make that determination based on all of those factors.

      Also, many online pharmacies are not selling legitimate medications. They may sell you something that is a "version" of the real medication. It may contain other ingredients that may potentially cause adverse reactions, it may not be manufactured properly, etc.

      Personally, I wouldn't touch this market with a ten-foot pole, no matter how profitable it may be.

      As for any potential legal issues, talk to an attorney.
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  • Profile picture of the author kindsvater
    Think of it this way ... Google paid a $500 MILLION dollar fine for allowing illegal (ie, unlicensed) pharmacy ads on Adwords, and it wasn't personally running the ads or promoting anything.

    Personally, I wouldn't get meds without a prescription, and if I did, I wouldn't tell anyone about it. I also wouldn't sign up as an affiliate to promote the website, since my affiliate information could be obtained by the feds when they go after the site.

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  • Profile picture of the author webpfa
    yeah, better buy a gun than a xanax, lol.
    Think outside the box guys.
    There are many otcs even more dangerous that the otc. For example, the supplement industry are all OTCs, check some preworkout formulas, then tell me how safe are this things.
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  • Profile picture of the author LarryC
    I would stay away from it, especially as you live in the U.S., where the laws are very strict on such matters. I won't go into some of the less than idealistic reasons why this might be the case, but it's risky all the same. Personally, I wouldn't want any part of this industry, legal or not.

    Feds begin crackdown on online pharmacies - CNN.com
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  • Profile picture of the author iconoclast
    Ya, just to be clear I was not going to promote narcotics it was anti-depressants. It was a site I would buy them from after I no longer had a prescription.

    I was mainly just going to tell the true story of why I ended up buying anti depressants from the online pharmacy and then provide a link to the site.

    Thanks for the replies everyone.
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    • Profile picture of the author sairon
      I have a legitimate online pharmacy, we used pharmacychecker to advertise on google, now Google wants vipps certification, which cost us 5k-6k and it is just not worth it at the moment. At the moment we don't advertise with google and looking for alternative ways to promote our store.
      The issue with illegal pharmacies is real, and we suffered because of it. We do not recommend drugs purchased out of India or China, even some European countries are fine, but again you still don't know where the drugs are coming from. You must verify if they have a pharmacy license and then check it with their governing body.
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