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This can’t be good news for our neighboring industry:
Dear Affiliate,
This email is to inform you of the company’s decision to discontinue processing requests for physician consultations related to “Controlled Substances” as of 12am November 7, 2003. All requests submitted before 12am EST will be forwarded to a physician.
We have always worked closely with our attorneys regarding the legalities of this industry. Due to the recent policy enacted by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency concerning customers obtaining prescriptions based solely on an online medical questionnaire, eScripts MD has decided to discontinue access to submit such request. We have new business models that exceed the current concerns express by the DEA that we will be introducing to you in the near future. The DEA policy may be accessed at
http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/pubs/pressrel/diversion_actualities_transcript.html
You may redirect all inquires for request for controlled substances to https://www.e-scripts-md.com/escripts/notice.asp.
We appreciate your understanding during this transition and look forward to your participation in our new concepts.
Sincerely,
eScripts MD LLCThis will definately impact sales. I dont think that industry will have the same luck in avoiding prosecution or regulation that online gambling has.
Not to throw stones, but in my oppinion it is a flawed concept that is VERY susceptible to abuse and leaves affiliates wide open to civil and criminal penalties that are VERY severe.
The DEA is going to pursue this vigorously and if they don’t get you I think civil lawyers will.
Just let one college kid OD on Soma or Hyrdrocodone or become addicted to Oxycontin and the resulting lawsuits will DESTROY the affiliate who connected them with the original sale.
In a medical malpractice suit or, god forbid, wrongfull death lawsuit the attorneys ALWAYS sue EVERYONE even remotely connected to the incident. Even if you successfully defended yourself and “win” the legal costs for YOUR defense could easily run into the tens of thousands of dollars. If you lose you can figure on a six figure settelement and debt that will be with you for the rest of your life.
I know everyone wants to earn money and I have heard the arguments about making discount drugs available to the masses, but I dont think this outweighs the downside. I truly believe pharmacy affiliates are playing with fire and some will get really badly burned before everyone wakes up.
All other things aside, what if the worst happened and someone died from an overdose to a drug you helped supply them with? Could you live with that or justify it away? Would it be worth the $25 commission you got on that sale?
Although the money side of things says online prescriptions is a good thing, I am inclined to agree with the Professor on this.
There is far too much potential for abuse and I for one could not live with myself if I contributed to a wrongful death.
However, I am still planning to promote online pharmacies for their other non-prescription products as there still may be a viable market for supplements etc. In addition, it is my understanding that some of the online pharmacies are working on redefining how the prescription process is done so that they will be in compliance with DEA regulations.
Again, this is a big money industry and like online gaming, I think the smart operators are here to stay.
Kevin 11
while I agree with Prof on all he has said; I did take a little optimism from the wording in that partucular article; stating that it is mostly the dr’s at risk, and also the pharmacists hold some liability; but it didn’t say anything about turnkey website owners.
While I realize this isn’t anything to base anything on; if I got in trouble I’d be squealing that the article from the gov website didn’t say it was illegal for me to run a pharmacy turnkey site; rather it said that the dr and pharmacists are responsible.
as far as I knew; the pharmacists and drs I was affiliated with; were completely USA licensed and that I left the decisions on what should be sold and not sold; to the licensed experts of my sponsor company.
anybody buy that?
Your point is well taken, and I agree that the burden of any responsibility would be on the pharmacy, doctors etc., not the marketer (you).
However, I don’t think your biggest issue would be with Govt. action, it would more likely come from a private action that would go after anyone associated with it. Even if you were not legally responsible, the costs associated with a defence could be huge.
I’m gonna approach Online Pharmacies with extreme caution and hope I can insulate myself from any liability if and when I start to actively promote them.
hehe, bb1, I buy it.
But then, I am prejudiced.
I think I will look into supplements and such myself.
Some of the prescription drugs that are popular have perfectly legal herbal cousins.
Oh boy, so I followed my own advice and started investigating supplements. Guess what I found?
Seems like there is just nothing out there that looks promising!
PROTECT YOUR ACCESS TO VITAMINS AND NUTRITIONAL SUPPLEMENTS
THE GOVERNMENT MUST NOT BE ALLOWED TO LIMIT THE FREEDOM OF CHOICE OF AMERICAN CONSUMERS WHEN IT COMES TO THEIR HEALTH.
Don’t Let Congress Overturn the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994
Support S. 1538 and Oppose S. 722
Because the Food and Drug Administration has failed to fully uphold the law, Congress is looking into making changes that will undermine many of the freedoms that American consumers of dietary supplements hold dear.
SUPPORT S. 1538
No more excuses from the Food and Drug Administration! Give the FDA the resources it needs to implement DSHEA!
This bill will eliminate the Food and Drug Administration’s favorite excuses that it doesn’t have enough staff, money or power to regulate supplements. The FDA has fallen short when it comes to enforcing the law.
Support research that validates the safety, effectiveness and quality of dietary supplements.
Because dietary supplements come from natural ingredients, they can’t be patented. While this insures that these products are readily—and affordably — available, it takes away the ability of manufacturers to recoup research costs. The bill doubles the funding given to the Office of Dietary Supplements to expand research and consumer information about these products.
Hold the government accountable for its actions.
This bill will require the FDA to file annual reports to Congress about how they’re regulating dietary supplements. If they fail in their responsibilities to fully implement the law, they’ll be held accountable.
OPPOSE S. 722
The Food and Drug Administration must not be granted new and unprecedented authority to subject safe and beneficial products to additional and unnecessary scrutiny.
This bill would subject nearly all vitamins, minerals, herbal products and other supplements to a level of scrutiny that is both unwarranted and unnecessary. Products that have been used safely for hundreds _ and in some cases, thousands _ of years would be subject to clinical evaluation using standards that are at the complete discretion of the FDA. Click here to view S. 722.
http://www.nnfa.org/services/government/pdf/s722.pdf
The government must not be allowed to limit the freedom of choice of American consumers when it comes to their health.
By questioning the safety of any dietary supplement that receives even one complaint, hundreds of products that have been safely and beneficially used could be removed from the marketplace. Under this new legislation, the FDA has complete discretion to make this determination, regardless of whether the product was used under conditions cautioned against by the manufacturer on the label.
The government must not be allowed to single-out dietary supplements.
By almost every measure, and by a wide margin, dietary supplements can be used more safely than conventional foods and OTC drugs. Yet this legislation exempts foods in these product categories from being classified as stimulants. Specifically, the bill unfairly excludes the most common “stimulant” ingredient in foods _ caffeine.
TAKE ACTION NOW!
This bill could be added to existing Senate legislation at any time. We need you to take two vital steps: 1) immediately let your Senators know that you support S. 1538 and ask them to co-sponsor the bill, and 2) ask them to oppose S. 722.
E-MAIL YOUR SENATORS NOW
To email your Senators simply go to:
http://capwiz.com/nnfa/issues/alert/?alertid=3098131&type=CO
Enter your ZIP code in the “Take Action Now” box.
Make any changes you feel necessary to the sample letter, and click “submit.” A copy of your letter will be sent to the two U.S. Senators from your state. A copy of the letter will also be sent to you confirming which Senators received the letter.
Call your Senators now. To reach your Senators’ offices, call them either through the Capitol Hill switchboard at (202) 224-3121 or directly at their Washington, D.C. or local offices. When you reach your Senator’s office, ask to speak with the staff member in charge of health-related issues. To find contact information for your elected officials, simply click on
http://capwiz.com/nnfa/dbq/officials/Originally posted by Professor
All other things aside, what if the worst happened and someone died from an overdose to a drug you helped supply them with? Could you live with that or justify it away? Would it be worth the $25 commission you got on that sale?Actually this can apply to online gambling as well. What if someone you refered to a casino addicted to gambling and lost a lot of money and then break up with their family? borrow more money to gamble and finally commit suicide when he/she can’t repay the loan? When every affiliate is happy when they catch some whales but they never want to know how these whales’ money come from. Unless you always assume these people are all CEOs and earn million of dollars, you can get away from it.
A car salesperson shouldn’t sell cars to people between age 18-25 because these people have high potential to cause accidents accroding to survey. So if a car salesperson sell a sport car to a 18 yo student and this student speed and not only killed himself but also killed a kid beside the road, the salesperson should go to jail and “could he/she live with that or justify it away”?
It is all depend on your interpretion. Sometime you cross the border but you think you didn’t.
That’s sad.
I guess the people who sell heroin make the same justifications. What a fucked up world we live in.
The Professor has made a very good point here today. I certainly have had my reservations about the OP biz since the begining. With so many young people hooked on hard drugs today and getting in trouble due to that it is very sad.
With all due respect …
What about taking $500 from a gamblers already pay check every week … one who has 5 children to feed, is 2 months late on his rent, his car just got repo’d and his wife is cheating on him?
LMAO
That card can be played from both sides of this table.
That and I just grabbed 2 domains … yikes!
Some of the prescription drugs that are popular have perfectly legal herbal cousins.
I am unashamedly an alternative medicine fan. Last script drug I got was a few valium 3 years ago prior to some major dental surgery.
Although not researched the online alternative scene too much I do get the distinct impression the multi-billion drug industry will do all it can to protect it’s interests.
I had a personal experience of the amazing amounts earned in this industry…an ex girlfriends sister is married to a now retired head of a European company that is a major manufacturer of the pill and a few cosmetics.
He was earning something like $1200 US a minute 24/7 for a considerable number of years. People will go to great lengths to protect a fairy tale income like that. They do not live in the “real world”.
Hi again,
while I don’t know if it will save me or not; I run a disclaimer stating patients / purchasers should always seek licensed medical care from a local provider before taking any kind of prescription drug.
and though I’ve already slashed PPC bids on stuff like Soma; I am thinking strongly about taking them completely off my site.
Prof makes a good point; so does Arkyt.
But there is one difference. the gambling addict can chargeback his mistake;
but I haven’t heard of too many OD’d kids getting their lives back by simply choosing not to die.
Stop it bb1 ! You’re not helping your case for staying in the online pharmacy business any at all.
…… sadly, the potential for keywords is almost infinite. I’m already getting free traffic in decent numbers.
