Cheap Medicines A Click Away? Beware

11 Charged In Scam To Sell Phony Drugs From Canada Via The Internet

(CBS)  The next time you're tempted to save a few dollars by ordering cheap prescription drugs from Canada off Internet sites, CBS News correspondent Jim Stewart reports, you might want to remember where millions of those drugs were actually made.

In a photo that was on the Internet and made available to CBS News, there's a man in shorts who may look like a technician, but he's actually a felon with a drug conviction. And what might look like Canada is just a rented house in Belize that looks like it could use a good cleaning.

Federal prosecutors on Wednesday charged 11 people and an Atlanta-based company with a scheme to sell fake drugs over the Internet, promising big savings.

"Consumers thought they were getting legitimate and safe prescription drugs over the Internet from Canada at a reduced price, when, in fact, they were receiving adulterated fake drugs that were crudely made in an unsanitary house in Belize," U.S. Attorney David Nahmias says.

---

Read the FDA’s Consumer Safety Guide To Buying Medicine Online.

---

Millions were sold, including 24 drugs passed off as the most popular brands like Lipitor and Viagra. Investigators say it's not clear what was actually in them.

"That may not be Lipitor. It may not be Lipitor that's regulated in the manufacture," Nahmias says. "It may not be doing for your body what you expect it to be doing."

Prosecutors say they don't yet know of anyone who got sick by taking the fake drugs. The harm, they suggest, might be that victims didn't take the right ones.

---

A safe website should be licensed by the state board of pharmacy where the website is operating. Click here to find out if the one you are using is. Internet websites that display the seal of the National Association of Boards of Pharmacies have been checked to make sure they meet state and federal rules. For more on this program and a list of pharmacies that display the Verified Internet Pharmacy Practice Sites™ Seal, (VIPPS® Seal), go to www.vipps.info


According to a federal affadavit, defendants manufactured and imported into the United States various prescription drugs and controlled substances, including:

Anavar

Anadrol

Stanazolol

Xanax

Valium

Activan

Pentermine

Ambien

Lipitor

Celebrex

Clobenzorex

Clomid

Esomprazole

Mevacor

Vioxx

Zoloft

Viagra

Cialis

Novadex

Levitra



©MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved

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Add a Comment See all 20 Comments

by fanniemaud September 22, 2006 9:55 PM EDT

This story on CBS news lacked the information found in the newspaper story that the drugs were purchased from unsolicited e-mails. Surely everyone knows by now not to respond to unsolicited e-mail!

Reply to this comment

by lovelylady4 September 21, 2006 6:57 PM EDT

Hmmm I thought they said go to the site to get the names of REPUTIBLE SITES! but either way, chlkdust is right! They should of had the list on the show... I wonder how much they put in thier pockets for the ads on this site... and the plug from Last night... :)
And if Walmart can sell generics for $4 then something is SOOOOOOOOO Wrong with our Health System... but hey, we've known that for years.

Reply to this comment

by hamiltongrad September 21, 2006 4:53 PM EDT

kudos to CBS news for their eye opening report !

Reply to this comment

by klmontgo September 21, 2006 3:21 PM EDT

Thank you, CBS, for updating this page with a link to pharmacies operating online here and in Canada and elsewhere. You have eased my mind and I will be sure to spread the word that CSB does practice responsible journalism. :) Thanks again.

Reply to this comment

by croslade September 21, 2006 1:26 PM EDT

At $22 a day for my prescription, I can't afford to buy in the US and have been debating the safeness of using a pharmacy in Canada. Thank you for the links to safe sites in Canada. For those of you who would like to check the pharmacy you now use in Canada or elsewhere, there is a link to PharmacyChecker.com. That site will give you information about other safe places to have your prescription filled by reputable pharmacies. There is also a link to MIPA (Manitoba International Pharmacists Association. This is a statement on their website......... The Manitoba International Pharmacists Association is a Provincial organization of licensed pharmacists, pharmacy students and others dedicated on a global basis to the provision of safe and affordable medications for the improvement of health and well being of individuals of all ages from around the world as well as assisting its members and enhancing the profession of pharmacy.

Reply to this comment

by bguntersmith September 21, 2006 11:33 AM EDT

For 5 years I've been dealing with CanadaDrugs.com and have found the service to be excellent and never had an issue with safety. The medications are all shipped in manufacturer sealed containers every time, they gave me back my money when my doctor pulled me off my meds (try getting a refund for a portion of your drugs at your local pharmacy) and as long as I order 3 weeks ahead of when I need my medications, I get it on time. Yes the medications sometimes have packaging that's from another country, but I'm always told ahead of time and what most people don't know is our drugs in the US are nearly all manufactures overseas as well as the same plants as every one else, just with an FDA Approved box...otherwise there is no difference.

Reply to this comment

by pasmurf2 September 21, 2006 12:15 AM EDT

It is also easy to buy invalid perscriptions in the US. I would like to see an indepth and accurate coverage of perseriptions from Canada and possibly from other countries as well.

Reply to this comment

by pasmurf2 September 21, 2006 12:07 AM EDT

I am 70 years old and have been using canadapharmacy.com as my source of valid prescriptions for several years. Typically I pay about 50% of the US price. The report on CBS news is very biased and does not represent the whole truth.

Reply to this comment

by ldybg77 September 20, 2006 11:05 PM EDT

In the defense of Katie Couric...I'm sure she's not personally responsible for putting the list on here. Give her a break. I'm sure it's public relations or computer services that's actually responsible. She gave us the story on the news. It's not your local news where they have to do every little thing themselves. I was just saying that it would be nice to have the names of the sites...and to maybe advertise something else on this page (I still think that's hilarious)

Reply to this comment

by klmontgo September 20, 2006 11:00 PM EDT

I do think it is irresponsible journalism to promise something and not deliver ie the list of reliable sites that was promised. Is it forthcoming? If not, or because cbs doesn't want liability issues, it should make some sort of statement. This is terribly discouraging for so many reasons.

Reply to this comment

by chlkdust September 20, 2006 10:56 PM EDT

I was disappointed in CBS's coverage of mail order drugs that was shown on tonight's news program. You tried to warn the viewing audience of potential problems with mail order drugs, and then told the audience that if they wanted the names of companies to stay away from, they would have to go to CBS's web page. What if the viewer did not have access to the internet? What a disservice you did by not printing the list and then showing it during the news coverage. Was CBS really interested in informing the viewing audience of potential health hazzards or were they more interested in having hits on their web page. I have thought better of CBS then this. Run the list tomorrow, Katie......... Chlkdust

Reply to this comment

by ldybg77 September 20, 2006 10:53 PM EDT

Wow...I watched this on the evening news, and was just curious so I checked out this site. Am I missing something? I thought it said that the list of the sites being investigated would be on here. I had to laugh when I got to this site and saw the different pharmacy sites (complete with Canada sites) that are being advertised on the right of the screen.

Reply to this comment

by eastusc September 20, 2006 10:49 PM EDT

When I reached the "doughnut" of the Medicare RX plan, I decided to look for a source for Femara, 2.5 mg, a cancer inhibitor, that would cost less than approximately $8 per pill--the CVS cost. I discovered a provider in Canada who uses UK as source. Thye pills are supposed to arrive in manufacturer's sealed container. The cost is approximately one-half of the CVS price. Comments?

Reply to this comment

by alpodog2 September 20, 2006 10:37 PM EDT

This special report was clearly the work of the U. S. pharmaceutical industry. I'm extremely disappointed with Couric's apparent endorsement of it. The promised list of reliable Canadian and other foreign sources is not available on the website. CanadaDrugs.com is definitely reliable and there are many others. The Bush government's control over this whole issue and the way the media handles it is absolutely sickening. How about a real thorough expose on this topic! Now, that would be doing something great for the American public. Oops! Sorry! You mustn't rock the boat. Bush and crew might haul you off to Gitmo.

Reply to this comment

by gpackard1 September 20, 2006 10:37 PM EDT

I just purchased the online Canadian drug Lipitor for my son who is not covered by health care. Now I have to worry about him getting a heart attack because he is not on the real "Lipitor" but a fake drug. I just don't know who to trust or believe in anymore - how can I find out if Planet Drugs is the one you CBS people are speaking about - why should this be a secret - who is the culprit here - let's expose them for who they are!

Reply to this comment

by September 20, 2006 10:35 PM EDT

As a transwomyn, who knows the problems that all transgender persuns have getting hormones prescribed by the average doctor, mainly because of lack of proper training, of the average doctor, upon how to treat transgender persuns, I know that many transpersuns have zero choise but to order hormones from over seas. So a list of overseas pharmacies that have proven reliable in providing prescriptions, not just Canadian based pharmacies, would be far more useful than warnings about how unreliable Candian based pharmanies are in providing reliable prescription drugs.

I see zero reasun for myself, or any other American, to pay extra for prescription drugs, just to cover the cost of excessive TV advertising, for the lastest FDA approved drug, which are often just a replacement for another drug, that works just as well, that now can be produced at a cheaper price by another company that does not waste money on TV ads.

Reply to this comment

by jeanb53 September 20, 2006 10:27 PM EDT

My husband & I had watched the cbs news tonite about canaidan drugs/scripts. we are interested
in calling in a script from our dr..
we like to know if CanadaDrugs.com is an legimate company?

thank you.

Reply to this comment

by klmontgo September 20, 2006 10:25 PM EDT

Understandably, the FDA would not recommend to buy outside of a jurisdicition that it can regulate i.e. Canada. However, even in the televised report the correspondent noted the large number of uninsured who can not afford to pay the overly exorbitant U.S. prices for prescriptions (too bad a corresponding story couldn't have been done linking this to the advertising costs to pharmaceuticals that is partly to blame). In any case, Katie asked the correspondent if consumers could get more information on the legitimate online sellers of pharmaceuticals and it was promised that the viewer would be able to get this information specifically on the website. Unfortunately, I was unable to find any such information. All that can be found is a list of some of the drugs (of which my prescription was not on the list) that were a part of the confiscated I'm assuming in this 11 person roundup. Just 11 warranted a national network story and possibly only attributed to one seller??
I was recommended by my doctor to canadapharmacy.com and was hoping to be able to find out if they are one of the reputable firms. The pill is a different color and does not have the stamp on the pill of the drug's name.
My only assurance is that it seems to come in the manufacturer of the company in Canada but am not entirely sure that I am getting the right medication. It is still not cheap and I would hope I am not getting a fraud both from an economic standpoint and from a health standpoint.

Reply to this comment

by mebrun September 20, 2006 10:10 PM EDT

It is hard to believe stories that are geared toward preventing people from buying drugs outside the US with all the controversy about drug companies over charging Americans as compared to Canada nowdays. I mean I wouldn't put it past drug companies to set up a situation like this just to get a news story out that aids in preventing people from buying cheaper drugs from Canadian pharmacies. Any information about buying safe drugs online always refer only to US pharmacies. If you really are interested in helping Americans, not drug companies, explain how to buy safe drugs from companies outside of US territory. Don't tell me there aren't. THe US only accounts for less than 5% of the World population, and the World is not getting all their expensive drugs exclusivly from US. They are getting them from reliable sources, much cheaper than we can that are not US based. We are not all stupid, but becoming more and more conspiracy minded and suspicious. Pretty sad huh.

Reply to this comment

by smcneal14120 September 20, 2006 9:51 PM EDT

It would have been very helpful to the public if the names of legitimate Canadian drug companies were listed, if not on the TV program, at least on the internet. Is MedCenter Canada legitimate? That's company my husband and I use. We are self-insured and cannot afford the cost of our medications.

Reply to this comment

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[fanniemaud]

This story on CBS news lacked the information found in the newspaper story that the drugs were purchased from unsolicited e-mails. Surely everyone knows by now not to respond to unsolicited e-mail!

[lovelylady4]

Hmmm I thought they said go to the site to get the names of REPUTIBLE SITES! but either way, chlkdust is right! They should of had the list on the show... I wonder how much they put in thier pockets for the ads on this site... and the plug from Last night... :)
And if Walmart can sell generics for $4 then something is SOOOOOOOOO Wrong with our Health System... but hey, we've known that for years.

[hamiltongrad]

kudos to CBS news for their eye opening report !

[klmontgo]

Thank you, CBS, for updating this page with a link to pharmacies operating online here and in Canada and elsewhere. You have eased my mind and I will be sure to spread the word that CSB does practice responsible journalism. :) Thanks again.

[croslade]

At $22 a day for my prescription, I can't afford to buy in the US and have been debating the safeness of using a pharmacy in Canada. Thank you for the links to safe sites in Canada. For those of you who would like to check the pharmacy you now use in Canada or elsewhere, there is a link to PharmacyChecker.com. That site will give you information about other safe places to have your prescription filled by reputable pharmacies. There is also a link to MIPA (Manitoba International Pharmacists Association. This is a statement on their website......... The Manitoba International Pharmacists Association is a Provincial organization of licensed pharmacists, pharmacy students and others dedicated on a global basis to the provision of safe and affordable medications for the improvement of health and well being of individuals of all ages from around the world as well as assisting its members and enhancing the profession of pharmacy.

[bguntersmith]

For 5 years I've been dealing with CanadaDrugs.com and have found the service to be excellent and never had an issue with safety. The medications are all shipped in manufacturer sealed containers every time, they gave me back my money when my doctor pulled me off my meds (try getting a refund for a portion of your drugs at your local pharmacy) and as long as I order 3 weeks ahead of when I need my medications, I get it on time. Yes the medications sometimes have packaging that's from another country, but I'm always told ahead of time and what most people don't know is our drugs in the US are nearly all manufactures overseas as well as the same plants as every one else, just with an FDA Approved box...otherwise there is no difference.

[pasmurf2]

It is also easy to buy invalid perscriptions in the US. I would like to see an indepth and accurate coverage of perseriptions from Canada and possibly from other countries as well.

[pasmurf2]

I am 70 years old and have been using canadapharmacy.com as my source of valid prescriptions for several years. Typically I pay about 50% of the US price. The report on CBS news is very biased and does not represent the whole truth.

[ldybg77]

In the defense of Katie Couric...I'm sure she's not personally responsible for putting the list on here. Give her a break. I'm sure it's public relations or computer services that's actually responsible. She gave us the story on the news. It's not your local news where they have to do every little thing themselves. I was just saying that it would be nice to have the names of the sites...and to maybe advertise something else on this page (I still think that's hilarious)

[klmontgo]

I do think it is irresponsible journalism to promise something and not deliver ie the list of reliable sites that was promised. Is it forthcoming? If not, or because cbs doesn't want liability issues, it should make some sort of statement. This is terribly discouraging for so many reasons.

[chlkdust]

I was disappointed in CBS's coverage of mail order drugs that was shown on tonight's news program. You tried to warn the viewing audience of potential problems with mail order drugs, and then told the audience that if they wanted the names of companies to stay away from, they would have to go to CBS's web page. What if the viewer did not have access to the internet? What a disservice you did by not printing the list and then showing it during the news coverage. Was CBS really interested in informing the viewing audience of potential health hazzards or were they more interested in having hits on their web page. I have thought better of CBS then this. Run the list tomorrow, Katie......... Chlkdust

[ldybg77]

Wow...I watched this on the evening news, and was just curious so I checked out this site. Am I missing something? I thought it said that the list of the sites being investigated would be on here. I had to laugh when I got to this site and saw the different pharmacy sites (complete with Canada sites) that are being advertised on the right of the screen.

[eastusc]

When I reached the "doughnut" of the Medicare RX plan, I decided to look for a source for Femara, 2.5 mg, a cancer inhibitor, that would cost less than approximately $8 per pill--the CVS cost. I discovered a provider in Canada who uses UK as source. Thye pills are supposed to arrive in manufacturer's sealed container. The cost is approximately one-half of the CVS price. Comments?

[alpodog2]

This special report was clearly the work of the U. S. pharmaceutical industry. I'm extremely disappointed with Couric's apparent endorsement of it. The promised list of reliable Canadian and other foreign sources is not available on the website. CanadaDrugs.com is definitely reliable and there are many others. The Bush government's control over this whole issue and the way the media handles it is absolutely sickening. How about a real thorough expose on this topic! Now, that would be doing something great for the American public. Oops! Sorry! You mustn't rock the boat. Bush and crew might haul you off to Gitmo.

[gpackard1]

I just purchased the online Canadian drug Lipitor for my son who is not covered by health care. Now I have to worry about him getting a heart attack because he is not on the real "Lipitor" but a fake drug. I just don't know who to trust or believe in anymore - how can I find out if Planet Drugs is the one you CBS people are speaking about - why should this be a secret - who is the culprit here - let's expose them for who they are!

As a transwomyn, who knows the problems that all transgender persuns have getting hormones prescribed by the average doctor, mainly because of lack of proper training, of the average doctor, upon how to treat transgender persuns, I know that many transpersuns have zero choise but to order hormones from over seas. So a list of overseas pharmacies that have proven reliable in providing prescriptions, not just Canadian based pharmacies, would be far more useful than warnings about how unreliable Candian based pharmanies are in providing reliable prescription drugs.

I see zero reasun for myself, or any other American, to pay extra for prescription drugs, just to cover the cost of excessive TV advertising, for the lastest FDA approved drug, which are often just a replacement for another drug, that works just as well, that now can be produced at a cheaper price by another company that does not waste money on TV ads.

[jeanb53]

My husband & I had watched the cbs news tonite about canaidan drugs/scripts. we are interested
in calling in a script from our dr..
we like to know if CanadaDrugs.com is an legimate company?

thank you.

[klmontgo]

Understandably, the FDA would not recommend to buy outside of a jurisdicition that it can regulate i.e. Canada. However, even in the televised report the correspondent noted the large number of uninsured who can not afford to pay the overly exorbitant U.S. prices for prescriptions (too bad a corresponding story couldn't have been done linking this to the advertising costs to pharmaceuticals that is partly to blame). In any case, Katie asked the correspondent if consumers could get more information on the legitimate online sellers of pharmaceuticals and it was promised that the viewer would be able to get this information specifically on the website. Unfortunately, I was unable to find any such information. All that can be found is a list of some of the drugs (of which my prescription was not on the list) that were a part of the confiscated I'm assuming in this 11 person roundup. Just 11 warranted a national network story and possibly only attributed to one seller??
I was recommended by my doctor to canadapharmacy.com and was hoping to be able to find out if they are one of the reputable firms. The pill is a different color and does not have the stamp on the pill of the drug's name.
My only assurance is that it seems to come in the manufacturer of the company in Canada but am not entirely sure that I am getting the right medication. It is still not cheap and I would hope I am not getting a fraud both from an economic standpoint and from a health standpoint.

[mebrun]

It is hard to believe stories that are geared toward preventing people from buying drugs outside the US with all the controversy about drug companies over charging Americans as compared to Canada nowdays. I mean I wouldn't put it past drug companies to set up a situation like this just to get a news story out that aids in preventing people from buying cheaper drugs from Canadian pharmacies. Any information about buying safe drugs online always refer only to US pharmacies. If you really are interested in helping Americans, not drug companies, explain how to buy safe drugs from companies outside of US territory. Don't tell me there aren't. THe US only accounts for less than 5% of the World population, and the World is not getting all their expensive drugs exclusivly from US. They are getting them from reliable sources, much cheaper than we can that are not US based. We are not all stupid, but becoming more and more conspiracy minded and suspicious. Pretty sad huh.

[smcneal14120]

It would have been very helpful to the public if the names of legitimate Canadian drug companies were listed, if not on the TV program, at least on the internet. Is MedCenter Canada legitimate? That's company my husband and I use. We are self-insured and cannot afford the cost of our medications.