We live in a world where an increasing number of life’s problems can be treated, cured, or controlled by pharmaceutical pills. Diseases, illnesses, and ailments that would have been untreatable in the past are being battled successfully through responsible drug cycles. In particular, mental disorders which in the past would have been tragic are able to be treated, allowing sufferers to live their lives in ways that would have been impossible just a few decades ago.

However, this pharmaceutical treatment can come at a price. We have begun to expect so much from our medication. Recent studies have shown that the placebo effect - the phenomenon in which a patient begins to feel effects from medicine because he expects be feeling effects from medicine - has seen a steady increase in the United States. Many believe that this is because we’ve come to anticipate so much from our drugs that we’ve grown to associate them with healing. The assumption that medication will be helpful merely because it’s medication is, deep down, a dangerous one.

Purchasing Medication Online

Nowhere is this more true than in the field of purchasing medication online. Many people assume that all medication is the same, even if it’s ordered online. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. The FDA recently released a warning that knock-off versions of a popular weight loss medication were being sold on online auction sites. These pills were found to contain sibutramine, a prescription drug which can cause people with pre-existing heart disease to suffer sudden heart attacks or strokes.

Not all online drugs should be mistrusted. There are several reputable online prescription companies which deal in responsible, doctor-prescribed drugs. However, consumers should always be on the look-out for offers from non-reputable sites. In particular, look for the following characteristics:

• How professional is the website you are buying from? Has it been well-designed, or is it shoddy and poorly laid out?

• Does the company offer real name-brand pharmaceutical products, or does it sell strictly knock-off products?

• What is the address of the company? Is it located in the United States? Sending falsely advertised products through the US mail counts as mail fraud, and the violators can be prosecuted.

If you’ve been the victim of a prescription drug scam, you may be entitled to financial compensation. To learn more about your legal rights, visit the Pennsylvania medical malpractice attorneys of Lowenthal & Abrams, P.C., today.

No Comments »

No comments yet.

RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URL

Leave a comment

You must be logged in to post a comment.