Federal law prohibits buying any controlled substances such as narcotics, including Oxycontin, sedatives like Xanax, stimulants like Adderall, and steroids without a valid prescription from a medical professional.
Buying drugs online or from social media is extremely dangerous and comes with health risks, legal risks, and financial risks.
The Legality Of Online Drug Purchases
Buying prescription drugs online with a verified prescription is legal from some online pharmacies.
The United States Food And Drug Administration (FDA) warns, however, that there are unsafe online pharmacies that sell counterfeit prescription drugs that fall outside the safeguards followed by a licensed pharmacy.
Many unsafe online pharmacies use fake storefronts to mimic licensed pharmacies. In the United States, the Ryan Haight Online Pharmacy Consumer Protection Act of 2008 restricts consumer’s online access to controlled substances.
Any internet pharmacy selling controlled substances must register with the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
Consumers also need to complete an in-person medical exam by a qualified doctor to get a prescription before they can purchase a controlled substance online.
Online Marketplaces And The Ongoing Drug Epidemic
Drug dealers are increasingly using online marketplaces and virtual currency to connect with people buying drugs online. Cryptocurrencies are often used to obscure the source of payments.
Online marketplaces facilitate the sale of illegal drugs by connecting buyers and sellers and providing anonymity. These marketplaces often operate on the dark web.
Many of the counterfeit pills sold online are marketed to teens and adolescents and are often mixed with fentanyl, which is a significant factor in overdose deaths in the United States of America.
The Risks Of Purchasing Illicit Drugs Online
When you purchase drugs online, there are a variety of risks involved. The strength of counterfeit prescription medications and illicit drugs varies from batch to batch and even from pill to pill.
The drug you think you are buying may also only be a small part of the overall product or not be present at all. Illegal drugs are often made with other substances to increase the amount of money a seller can get from a buyer.
You may not be able to visually tell if the product you get is the drug you were trying to buy, and it may not have the effect you were expecting. Volatile side effects can be extremely dangerous.
Your financial information often isn’t safe during illicit online drug sales. The drugs may never arrive, or your payment information may remain in a database for years, which creates vulnerability to identity theft.
Legal Consequences For Purchasing Illegal Drugs
Buying illegal drugs comes with a variety of legal consequences, including jail time or fines.
The jail sentence or fines imposed vary based on the severity of the crime, the number of offenses, the drug type, and other factors.
Many states have minimum and maximum fines and jail sentences for the number of offenses, amount of drug possessed, class of drug possessed, and whether there is intent to sell.
At the federal level, drug possession is a misdemeanor charge punishable by imprisonment of a year or less, a minimum fine of $1,000, or these punishments may be combined.
How Is The Federal Government Enforcing Drug Laws Online?
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) is working to dismantle illicit online drug marketplaces and hold corporations who enable these marketplaces accountable.
They employ intelligence analysis and research to investigate and prosecute drug traffickers and target international sources of supply as well as regional and local distribution networks.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cooperates with state agencies to identify and monitor potentially violative websites and make referrals for criminal prosecution.
Federal banking organizations report suspicious activities to law enforcement from online financial institutions that may involve potential drug trafficking.
Law enforcement agencies then use this information to investigate possible crimes.
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- Drug Enforcement Adminsitration (DEA) https://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/scams/consumer_alert.htm#:~:text=It%20is%20a%20felony%20to,be%20only%20illegal%2C%20but%20dangerous./
- International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering https://ispe.org/pharmaceutical-engineering/november-december-2019/regulating-online-pharmacies-medicinal-product-e/ `
- National Library of Medicine: PubMed https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1761882/#:~:text=FDA%20has%20investigated%20and%20referred,not%20approved%20by%20the%20Agency./
- NHS Grampian https://www.nhsgrampian.org/your-health/healthy-living/drugs/overdose/buying-illegal-drugs-online-or-through-an-app/
- Public Citizen https://www.citizen.org/article/buying-drugs-online-presents-hidden-risks/
- United States Department of Justice (DOJ) https://www.justice.gov/doj/doj-strategic-plan/objective-25-combat-drug-trafficking-and-prevent-overdose-deaths/
- United States Government Accountability Office https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-22-105101.pdf/
- United States Government Accountability Office https://www.gao.gov/blog/virtual-currency-use-human-and-drug-trafficking-increases-so-do-challenges-federal-law-enforcement/
- United States Sentencing Commission https://www.ussc.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/research-and-publications/research-publications/2016/201609_Simple-Possession.pdf/
