According to a news from CNN a short time ago the FDA shut down 1,677 online pharmacies. It was reported that 58 people were arrested and that 41 million dollars worth of illegal, counterfeit drugs were seized from 100 different countries.

According to The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy there are over 10,000 online pharmacies and that 97% don’t comply with federal regulations. In addition, 88% that don’t even require a valid prescription.

It isn’t hard to find these pharmacies by performing a simple online search. Most of us also get spam emails from them on a very regular basis. The searches and spam emails all tell you about their extraordinary and bargain basement process for all sorts of drugs.

In most cases if you do decide to buy anything from these “off shore” online you probably didn’t get what you had anticipated. You probably received some type of counterfeit drug.

We all know that famous saying (and it is true) You know the adage – if it seems too good to be true then it probably is to good to be true. If you are lucky enough to actually receive anything, it is most likely a counterfeit, there is no telling what you have received and what you are about to put into your body! Just because the drugs you ordered look like what you expected they could simply be pressed flour or chalk, or even worse, some substance that could harm you.

I have had people assure me that the Canadian pharmacies that advertise are safe. However, the question is are these supposed Canadian pharmacies really Canadian pharmacies?

We all need to be realistic. Yes drugs, especially drugs used to treat cancer are very expensive. Many of us cannot really afford the sky-high costs of our treatments, so wouldn’t it make sense to save some money and buy from an online “off-shore” pharmacy? The answer is no, you must protect yourself and not waste your money buying drugs of questionable content and questionable safety.

Joel T. Nowak, M.A., M.S.W.