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by SignalNotSecure 1798 days ago
Have you considered stocking up at the Mexican border? So many things are available over the counter in Mexico its awesome.
1 comments

Is that legal?
Been there done that but from a different continent flying in. Nobody cares in general unless you're importing scheduled substances. You need to do your research but it's a way to beat the racket.

Drive up to the border and walk across on a day trip to the pharmacy. I believe the first few miles into the country are a NAFTA special economic zone with very relaxed paperwork requirements.

You can personally import up to 3 months worth of medications if you have doctors prescription.

https://www.fda.gov/industry/import-basics/personal-importat...

You can buy prescription drugs online from India without a prescription for super cheap. They arrive in your mail.

This is probably illegal, but not enforced.

I’m insured so it’d actually be cheaper for me personally to go in to the doctor and ask for a prescription. But I got tired of taking time out of my day for this - these are just beta blockers for fuck’s sake.

> You can buy prescription drugs online from India without a prescription for super cheap. They arrive in your mail.

And what guarantee do you have of their contents?

Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS [1]) by an independent third-party lab [2]. For unscheduled substances they'll even email you the mass plot.

Nearly all of our (US) pharmaceuticals already come from India anyways. Manufactured there from Chinese bulk precursors.

I trust a third-party GC/MS plot way more than any brand slapped on a package.

[1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gas_chromatography–mass_spec...

[2] https://energycontrol-international.org/

I'm confused. Are you saying that every time you receive a package of medications from India, you send a sample off to for spectrometry?

That seems extremely arduous.

The point is that you don't trust this specific supply chain/manufacturer, which is part of the approval process.

"India/China" is not some monolithic entity that is either good or bad, there are some manufacturers that you can trust, and some you cannot.

Quality control in drug manufacturing is what ensures that every single pill has the correct dose, and not some random batch accidentally having 100x the active drug you need - or 0.01%.

the good pharmacies in India have started asking for prescriptions.. so, one is left to go the sketchy/tinier ones, where quality can be expected to be lower as well.
… kind of. There are certain personal use exceptions, but definitely something you want to speak with a lawyer about.
Don't need to speak to a lawyer. Millions of folks do this every year to save money. Doesn't mean they'll have unique drugs in stock however.