>> It is ILLEGAL to import medications into the US without a prescription. I have seen this common misunderstanding all over this and other boards many times.
Gottadoit - I think this is a much more confused, gray area of administrative law than you assert. I don't have all the answers, but one of the oldest and most reputable of all the IOP's, Masters Marketing has successfully shipped non-controlled pharmaceuticals to the US for over ten years using "FDA Guidance 1983," as they state on their customs declaration form attached to their packages.

This 1983 guidance was, I believe, orginally promulgated under the pressure of HIV/AIDS patient advocates, who wanted to use non-FDA approved meds available in Europe and elsewhere. It basically states that one can import a 90-day supply of a non-approved med for "compassionate reasons." The Smart Drugs guys seized on this to import a lot of nootropics, claiming that preventing dementia or stupidity fell under the "compassionate" clause. In general US Customs got to the point where they'd allow anything, if it looked like it was 90-day supply for personal use. I believe that is current standard operating procedure. As is frequently reported here on DB, many packages are opened by customs, resealed with the "green" tape and delivered.

There is only administrative law, never well tested through the Federal court system to my knowledge to cover this importation. If you have case law to the contrary to cite, I'd be happy to see it.

Controlled Substances are slightly more complicated because the DEA, not the FDA, has the final, authority when it come to controlled substances. DB has a letter from an attorney at the DEA posted on this site. This letter gives the legal opinion that it is illegal to import controlled substances into the US witout a DEA license. However, one clear exception to this is the capability to import in one's personal possession up to 50 OTC codeine + tylenol or codeine + IB tablets, when physically entering the country. Combo Codeine + NSAID OTC products are common everywhere in the English-speaking world, except the US. Keeping this in mind, recall that the DEA letter posted by DB is the legal opinion of a DEA lawyer. It is not strictly speaking the law. If one were to import a small amount of a combo codeine+NSAID product by mail for personal use, it is unclear that it would be a violation of federal law. It might be a violation of some state laws to possess it without a prescription, but you can see from the contradictory applications of the relevant law, that it is not as black and white as you assert.