Posted by JohnL on August 27, 2000, at 4:29:36
In reply to Overseas Drug Ordering-Legality, posted by Cecilia on August 25, 2000, at 5:13:15
A couple of my mailorder packages were intercepted by Customs over the last couple years or so. I could tell, because they had been opened and then resealed again, and there was a green Customs label with someone's signature on the outside. But, after checking the contents, they labeled them "supplements" and then let them continue their journey to my mailbox. No problem at all. This happened once with Amisulpride, once with Bromocriptine, and once with Adrafinil.
As far as I can tell, they are concerned with abusable substances, like controlled substances and illegal substances. The written rules leave room for various interpretations, but in my experience Customs is not concerned with non-abusable psychiatric meds like Zoloft, Prozac, Adrafinil, Amisulpride, Reboxetine, Deprenyl, and such.
I don't know of any suppliers that would sell you something abusable like Ritalin or Adderall. But even if there were a supplier, attempting to import those, with or without a prescription, would probably lead to interception of the shipment and a knock on your door from the DEA.
In a worst case scenario with common non-abusable meds, the shipment might be seized and you would lose your money. But I haven't seen that happen. Usually if that does happen, the supplier will attempt a second shipment. Customs can't check every single package, so a second effort stands a good chance of getting through. But like I said, Customs doesn't seem to show any concern for common psychiatric non-abusable meds. They are quick to label them "supplements" and let them go on their merry way to the receiving address.
Here's a real life story worth noting. I drove to Canada (I live in Maine) to get the MAOI antidepressant Moclobemide. When I got to the Customs station re-entering the USA, they asked to see my purchases, wanted to know the nature of my visit to Canada, the length of time in Canada, and usual stuff like that. The Customs person thumbed through some kind of reference manual, looking up Moclobemide, gave me a glaring stare, handed me back the package, said thank you, and waved me through. Whew! I was worried there for a minute! But all went well. Too bad, after all that, Moclobemide turned out to be a lousy med for me.
I know a guy out of the country who attempted to send his sister in the USA an illegal white powder substance. Not only was the shipment seized, but the DEA arrested both of them. Here again, it shows they are looking for abusable, controlled, and illegal substances. They seem to not care at all about antidepressants and such.
If you are planning to order an overseas shipment of Amisulpride, Andrafinil, Provigil, Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft, Deprenyl, or Bromocriptine, you aren't likely to experience any problems. I say that based solely on my own experience in importing these things. They're just "supplements". And rightly so. I think Customs deserves credit for recognizing what might be a helpful med for someone suffering from depression, versus something else that is illegal or could lead to abuse. And the bottom line is, none of the suppliers out there would attempt to do mailorder business if they couldn't sell to enough people to make a decent return on investment, and if they would get into trouble themselves. With an abusable, controlled, or illegal substance, both the sender and the receiver get arrested. Just the fact that these suppliers have been shipping worldwide for years shows that they aren't breaking any rules. Or else they would have been shut down or restricted a long time ago. The others who stretched or even broke the rules are now either out of business or restricted to selling just herbs and vitamins.
The only problem I've seen with overseas orders is the waiting time for delivery. It could be as fast as a week, or it could take as long as six weeks. Normally 10 days to 28 days though. In any case, you have to plan ahead and place an order a month before you actually need the med onhand, just to be safe and to be sure you have it when you need it. It's not as convenient as the local pharmacy. That's the only drawback I've seen. But even that isn't any problem as long as one plans ahead. But concerning Customs, I've seen no problems at all with any of the non-abusable psychiatric meds. They view them as "supplements", as evidenced by the word "supplements" handwritten on the green Customs label and signed by a Customs official.
poster:JohnL
thread:43689
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000822/msgs/43816.html