Cheap Medicines A Click Away? Beware

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.

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

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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.

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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

[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.