Legal Information, Articles and other helpful references One of the questions that we are often asked is "Is it legal to order prescription drugs from Foreign Pharmacies? - and the answer is – Yes, It is completely legal for consumers to purchase and/or import prescription medication via the Internet from a foreign pharmacy as long as the prescription medication complies with all FDA rules and guidelines, is intended for personal use only and does not exceed a 90-day supply. However, we are not lawyers or legal professionals and therefore cannot give you legal advice. In this section we have provided information that will allow you to learn what your rights are as a consumer and legal facts that deal with the importation of prescription medications. Please take the time to carefully read through this material, so you can be totally confident in the legality of ordering prescription medications online from foreign pharmacies.

RECENT NEWS AND U.S. CONGRESS INTIATIVES RELATED TO PHARMACEUTICAL IMPORTS July 25, 2003
House OKs drug import bill
Washington (CNN) – by David Espo, AP Special Correspondent (excerpts from the original article) "In a blow to the Republican leadership, the House of Representatives early Friday approved a controversial bill to allow Americans to import lower-cost prescription drugs from Canada and Europe, which proponents say could help curb escalating drug costs. The bill passed 243-186, shortly before 3 a.m. ET. The Bush administration and the leadership in the GOP-controlled Congress both oppose the bill, but some lawmakers feeling enormous pressure over rising drug costs have broken ranks to support it. One of those members, Rep. Jo Ann Emerson, R-Mo., said if the bill fails, "Americans may remain under the thumb of the pharmaceutical industry for the foreseeable future." "In America, breast cancer kills over 40,000 people, especially women, each year," she said on the House floor. "A bottle of Tamoxifen used to fight breast cancer costs $360 in the United States. It costs $60 in Germany. How long will American women who can't afford Tamoxifen continue to subsidize those in Europe who can?"… … While it is already legal to import prescription drugs, the bill would remove an existing requirement that the Secretary of Health and Human Services verify that the imported drugs are safe – 108th CONGRESS - 1st Session - H. R. 2427, Bill Passed on 7/25/04.

July 11, 2001
House Backs Limited Drug Import Plan
Washington (Reuters) – by Adam Entous (excerpts from the original article) "Under pressure from consumers to rein in sky-high prescription drug prices, the House of Representatives voted on Wednesday to let Americans import less expensive medicines from Europe and elsewhere by mail order despite opposition from the Bush administration." "… U.S. consumers often pay 30 percent to 70 percent more for prescription medicines than consumers in other countries. Experts say that is partly because the United States is the world's only major developed nation without price controls on drugs. For example, a 30-day supply of the popular allergy medicine Claritin costs $63.06 in the United States, versus $16.05 in European countries, according to estimates by the Life Extension Network.”

July 11, 2000
House Votes to Protect Personal Prescription Mail Order From Foreign Countries
The Washington Post (excerpt from the original article "House Blocks Drug Import Curbs”) " Amid growing public resentment of high prescription drug prices, the House voted overwhelmingly yesterday to prevent the government from discouraging the purchasing of drugs in Canada or other countries where the medicines are cheaper....The FDA sometimes sends warning letters to those caught doing it.."

July 19, 2000
Senate OK's Prescription Imports
Washington - by Janelle Carter, Associated Press Writer (excerpt from the original article) The Senate agreed Wednesday to lift a ban on importing prescription drugs into the United States from foreign countries, responding to critics who have complained that Americans are being gouged by drug prices. The measure, which passed 74-21, was attached to the agriculture spending bill currently being debated in the Senate. The debate centers on complaints that Americans are paying more for drugs available at a cheaper cost in some other countries. "Why are we charged so much more for the identical drug?" said Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D. and one of the sponsors of the measure. "If someone else is paying half price or a third of the price than is being charged to the American consumer ... why can't the American consumer have access to those drugs in a global economy?" ……

FDA's "Personal Use” Prescription Drug Import Policy –
FDA first introduced this policy in 1988 as a response to concerns that certain potentially effective AIDS treatments were available in other countries but not accessible to U.S Residents. The "personal Use” policy allows consumers to purchase and/or import prescription medications from foreign pharmacies, as long as it is intended for personal use and does not exceed a 90 day supply. FDA never intended for this to open the doors to the importation of other types of prescription medications, but that is exactly what happened. Since then, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of people importing discounted prescription drugs from foreign pharmacies. For more information on FDA policies and U.S Custom laws and regulations, please visit the following sites:
http://www.fda.gov
http://www.customs.gov