http://answers.google.com[...]=353524
29 May 2004
I found this answer to a question on google regarding the legalities of buying drugs online and having them shipped to the UK.
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If I understood correctly, you are planning to purchase (from a site
outside the EU) prescription drug and have them send the medication to
the UK.
There are several legal issues that would probably hinder such a plan.
Before I go into further details, I would like to remind you of the
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This is in fact an interesting question in cyber law. The pharmacy is
in jurisdiction "A", you're on jurisdiction "B", and different laws
apply to you. The pharmacy is committed to the law in "A", which may
(or may not) define that medicine as controlled and requiring a
prescription; and likewise might or might not acknowledge online
prescription by a doctor, who haven't seen the patient. Therefore, the
liability on getting a signed prescription is on the seller, and
depends on the laws of their place of residence: "In the United
Kingdom, people cannot commit an offence by buying medicines form any
source. All the legal controls are exerted on sellers." (SOURCE:
Michael Thompson, "Buying medicines on the World Wide Web: what is
legal and what is not?", The Pharmaceutical Journal, Vol. 271 No. 7262
p202, 16 August 2003,
http://www.pjonline.com/E[...]eb.html).
I am very careful here when I say that, but getting an advice online
from a doctor, or even purchasing the drug, might not be an offence on
your behalf. However, both the pharmacy and the doctor should comply
with the laws of their jurisdiction. So, the answer to your question
is probably "yes": a foreign doctor *could* give you a prescription,
if this is not banned by the laws of his jurisdiction.
On a related note, the Medicine Act (1968) stipulates that no
prescribed drug would be sold to a patient without a prescription, but
it not state that the consultation has to be face-to-face one. This,
again, relates to cases where you buy from a UK-based chemist, and
brought here as a general information. (See Edwards, David. "Drugs
Online; No Consultation. No Prescription. All You Need is
a Credit Card, Then a Lethal Dose of Medication is Just One Click Away." The
Mirror, Mens Health, 5 Sept. 2002, 29-31).
Your legal problems would probably start not at this point, but by
receiving it in the UK by postal order (or even if you travel to the
pharmacy outside the UK and bring it "on your person"). Bringing (or
receiving a shipment, through the post), controlled medications into
the UK without a permit is a violation of the Postal Services Act
2000: "the Royal Mail prohibits the posting of medicines unless they
are sent by a health professional in an emergency" (SOURCE: Thompson,
ibid). It could be also in violation of the The Medicine Act (1968) of
the Misuses of Drugs Act (1971), depends on the substance and amount
you're planning to order:
"The Customs and Excise Act penalises unauthorised import or export of
controlled drugs. The maximum penalties are the same as for other
trafficking offences except that in a magistrate’s court fines can
reach up to three times the value of the drugs seized." (SOURCE:
DrugScope, "Drug laws",
http://www.drugscope.org.[...]ws.html).
You must have an import licence in order to import medicines that
contain any controlled drugs.
It should be mentioned here, that the Medicine Act (1968) enables the
travel of tourists with dosages for their own usage. In fact HM
customs enables the "importation" of some prescription medicines to
the country, in small amounts and in order to allow tourists to travel
with their medicines. You could see the list of medications and the
restrictions on the amount here:
Notice 4
Taking medicines with you when you go abroad
http://www.hmce.gov.uk/fo[...]s/4.htm.
Some sites interpret this as if a person could also import drugs for
personal usage through the post. However, "Customs and Excise
officials can seize controlled medicines that are sent through the
post without proper documentation. They can also seize medicines that
are not described accurately." (SOURCE: Ray Dunne, "Dangers of buying
drugs on the net", BBC Online,
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/h[...]449.stm).
HM Customs also write in their site:
"Under international postal agreements, the sender must make a Customs
declaration on a form which, in most cases, will be attached to the
package. The declaration includes a description of the goods, their
value and whether they are gifts or commercial items. Any Post Office
abroad should be able to give advice to the sender. It is in your own
interest, whenever possible, to ensure that the sender abroad makes a
complete and accurate declaration.
If no declaration is made, or the information given is inaccurate, the
package may be delayed while we make further enquiries or in some
cases the package and its contents may be seized."
(SOURCE: "Notice 143 A guide for international post users",
http://www.hmce.gov.uk/fo[...]143.htm).
Thus, you might be violating the law by "importing" drugs through a
postal order. Moreover, since I don't know if this particular
medication is available and approved in the UK or not, I would like to
note that medicines that have not been approved in the UK and untested
"research drugs" (chemical substances such as designer drugs) are
illegal for purchase (or shipment) in the UK (See an amendment to the
Misuse of Drugs Act in February 2002).
Specifically, regarding "lifestyle drugs" , "The NAO says that buying
such drugs online is illegal whether or not any form of online medical
consultation has been carried out. People who buy the drugs run the
risk of purchasing inappropriate drugs through incorrect
self-diagnosis." (SOURCE: News,
http://www.bcsnsg.org.uk/[...]ews.pdf).
I have found no collaboration of this from any other source, but
decided to mention it nevertheless.
On the other hand, as mentioned before, importation of small amounts
of medicines, provided there is a prescription for this medicine, for
personal usage, is legal for tourists: Thmopson (ibid) mentions that
"The exemption is there to facilitate continuing treatment during
international travel. Its intended purpose is not to provide a way of
bypassing systems that are in place to protect people from unintended
self-harm". I have no knowledge of recent cases where the regulation
in regards to "online importers" and the spirit of the law has been
discussed.
To sum up:
(1) Regarding your original question - it is legal for you to be
consulted by a foreign doctor; the question of legality rests on the
pharmacy and the physician, not on you.
(2) Postal ordering and "importing" the medicine, on the other hand,
lies in a grey area and is basically illegal due to the Postal
Service Act (2000), and, depending on substance and quantity, could be
also illegal of other reasons (Medicine Act, 1968; Misuse of Drugs
Act, 1971).
(3) No cases were found discussing the similarity/difference between
the allowance given to tourists to bring small amounts of prescription
drugs; and those imported for personal usage through the post.
In general, it is considered hazardous to be consulted by a doctor who
has not seen you face-to-face, and it had already caused several cases
of death or severe injury.
I hope this answers your question. Please contact me if you need any
other clarification on this answer before you rate it.
Search terms/strategy: buying drugs online; medicine act 1968; misuse
of drugs act; prescription; site:uk.
