Not really in the supplement world, certainly for sports supplements anyway as those guys often buy specialist stuff from the US. There are loads of dropshippers thesedays and powersellers on Ebay who have contracts for their stock to be managed, picked & delivered from warehousing companies that have sprung up. I agree that the fact there is a mailing address and its unclear where they are based is a major issue, but when you then look at the fact they are getting better reviews than Boots, I doubt you would hold the same suspicion.Originally Posted by mikewales
It is interesting that if you switch countries, you get a mailing address foe that country. So, I guess each one of these forwards into that California address. They do have telephone numbers though so it makes you wonder who is answering the calls.
I only found that reference to California because they have been subject to investigation along with a load of other companies for importing an element that was to be stopped into the US. I found it via a Google of the address but who is going to go to those lengths for a supplement company with a professional looking website, more Trustpilot reviews for the UK than Boots and a load of legit supplements that can be purchased in a health food shop or supermarket or online?
Like I said though, the ASA see them as advertising to UK citizens hence being able to take action against them. There is no EASA agreement with the US to tackle websites hosted in their country so the ASA are powerless but they will attempt to tackle adverts to UK citizens but have no power outside the UK to do much of anything unless its in the EASA agreement. They stated their adverts come under the CAP Code which binds UK advertising. So, they must see them as enough of a business entity over here to take on.
They also sell 7-Keto DHEA which, to my knowledge, is not considered banned due to a different method of action. So, some people may not realise the difference and just see the products listed side by side.
I can also see they sell GABA, which has been banned for years. It was in fact fact alongside GHB due to having a similiar method of action although it was never abused, only used in sports circles, so it's ban was never based on anything other than the knee-jerk reaction of the government to tackle the date rape with drugs issue. Sometimes we talk about GABA on here but unless we tell people its banned, they won't know when they come across companies like this.
This clearly isn't a dodgy small outfit and I would have thought it would be investigated but if you Google DHEA or Melatonin, you can find references to people using or recommending them going back years.
I've spotted some legislation that covers cross border supply of scheduled substances so I'm going to have a read and see if it covers things like this and which countries are bound by it to see if US suppliers shouldn't be able to even send the stuff.
---------- Post added at 08:17 ---------- Previous post was at 08:15 ----------
Good call on the post deletion and ban Mike. I was just about to post that you can't do that in the US as its a Schedule IV offence which is equivalent to our MDA.
---------- Post added at 10:41 ---------- Previous post was at 08:17 ----------
Just to update on this.
It's covered by the Convention on Psychotropic Substances of 1971. This applies to 182 members of the UN and 1 non UN member state. 11 UN members have not signed on to this.
So, if we go back to Diazepam we can see it listed in Schedule IV with other Benzodiazepines.
The International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) in 2001 stated . . . the Board points to loose regulation, unreliable estimates and information regarding medical needs, aggressive marketing techniques and improper or even unethical prescription practices as the main reasons for the oversupply of such controlled substances as benzodiazepines and various amphetamine type stimulants. Easy availability leads to overconsumption of such substances, either in the form of drug abuse or by fuelling a culture of drug-taking to deal with a variety of non-medical problems. . . Insomnia, anxiety, obesity and child hyperactivity as well as various kinds of pain are listed among the most common problems to be treated by prescribing psychotropic substances. The Board is especially concerned that preference is given to quick solutions without looking at the long-term effects, as prolonged, excessive consumption of such drugs could result in dependency and other physical and mental suffering.
The Board pointed out that some Internet suppliers sell controlled drugs without regard to the Convention's medical prescription requirements.
As far as I can tell, if you are signed onto this convention then you should have domestic legislation to control these substances as long as it doesn't contradict your constitution or the constitutational rights of your citizens. So, I would expect that countries signed on have comparitive legislation to our MDA and The Medicines Act. That would make sense.
Now, The Medicines Act does allow for exportation under licence. So, in the state where this is coming from, can it be seen that the dispensing company have a licence? If so, are they acting in accordance with their legislation?
For me, the question comes down to a) is the doctor allow to prescribe to non residents unless they are in his licenced country at the time and b) is there any legislation preventing exportation based to a foreign address based on a prescription.
Perhaps its lax legislation or perhaps it lax regulation. The INCB seem to be indicating that a) doctors are overprescribing or prescribing when they shouldn't which might be our situation here and b) where we have those dodgy websites selling Diazepam, local controls are not enforcing this element of the Convention.
I would like to know if our customs are feeding this back because in this example we can see they have meerly asked the importer to confirm their right to import which is not suggesting that they view it as illegal, more as a blocker, probably due to a watchlist if countries they are on the lookout for that are labelled 'health supplement' or some form of medical level.
Reply With Quote
