PharmacyChecker Blog

Helping Americans Get The Truth About Prescription Drug Savings
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(Click here to skip the explanations and view the steps to finding a Canadian online pharmacy)

If you’ve seen one of the latest FDA press releases regarding Canadian pharmacies, you might be a little confused on how to find one. The FDA seems to acknowledge that there are legitimate – and therefore safe – Canadian pharmacies accessible online. Here’s what they say (with one word italicized by us):

“Don’t order medicines from web sites that claim to be Canadian pharmacies. Most are not legitimate pharmacies, and the drugs they supply are illegal and potentially dangerous.

Claiming to be a Canadian pharmacy is one of the hallmarks of Internet sites that sell illegal prescription drugs which, in many cases, are not made in Canada at all, but in a number of other countries. (Even if an online Canadian pharmacy is legitimate, in general, U.S. citizens cannot legally import prescription drugs from other countries. But that’s a separate issue. We’re talking here about fraud).”

 

The FDA’s focus on protecting you from online pharmacy fraud is commendable because that’s where the real health and safety threats reside. Since they don’t tell you how to find a legitimate, real Canadian pharmacy, we’re providing you with facts and guidance to help you make the right decisions for your health and prescription savings.  Let’s remember, brand name medications sold in Canada and other non-U.S. pharmacies are often astronomically cheaper than ones here at home.

The FDA is right that rogue pharmacy sites pretending to be Canadian ship drugs from all over the world, but its communications may confuse you. It states that many sites “sell illegal prescription drugs which, in many cases, are not made in Canada at all, but in a number of other countries.” That’s true, but they’re making foreign manufactured drugs sound scary when they aren’t; about 40% of prescription drugs sold in U.S. pharmacies are imported from many countries, especially generic drugs from India. Eighty percent of the active pharmaceutical ingredients of all so called “American” drugs are imported, with many, if not most, coming from India and China.

The big mantra and scare tactic among big pharma, FDA, and the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy, which represents U.S. pharmacy regulatory authorities, is that you might not be getting drugs shipped from Canada when you order from a “Canadian online pharmacy.” That’s true but if the online pharmacy is real and not a fake Canadian online pharmacy then it may be perfectly safe.

Here are some pertinent facts: pharmacies in many countries sell brand name drug products produced in either one or a small number of factories run or contracted by multinational drug companies throughout the world. Unless the big pharmaceutical companies are hiding something, there’s no difference in the quality of their medications whether it’s sold in Canada, the United Kingdom, India, Barbados, Turkey, or Mars.

Verified Canadian online pharmacies often partner with pharmacies in other countries like New Zealand, Australia, or Turkey, but they do so to get you the lowest prices not to rip you off.

But if you want to get your prescription drug online from Canada, not another country, here’s what you do…

Step 1: Make Sure the Online Pharmacy is Verified…Actually Verified

Members in the PharmacyChecker.com Verification Program display our seal on their website. Just seeing the seal isn’t good enough, you need to click it, and make sure the resulting popup is a pharmacychecker.com address:

Seal:

Popup (note the pharmacychecker.com address in the red oval):

Step 2: Ask the online pharmacy to ship your medication from Canada

On their websites, Canadian online pharmacies will often but not always show you the Canadian pharmacy price, along with prices at pharmacies in other countries. If they don’t then call them and let them know that you only want the medication sold from a licensed Canadian pharmacy. It may be more or less expensive than their partner pharmacy in Australia, New Zealand, or Turkey, but they’ll oblige you. Reputable Canadian online pharmacies will always tell you where the product is dispensed from. Gabe’s (the author’s) dad gets his meds from Canada – yes, a REAL Canadian pharmacy, because it happens to have a very low price for the drug he takes.

We’re glad to see that the FDA and drug companies actually do believe that Canadian pharmacies are safe. Amen to that! You can use PharmacyChecker.com to find a safe online pharmacy.

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