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bigdawg
Stranger
Reged: 08/08/03
Posts: 10
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http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0342/landis.php
Quote:
Online Pharmacies Offer Relief to the Uninsured, Vulnerable, and Desperate
Go E-Mail the Doctor
by Bill Landis
October 15 - 21, 2003
We've all received spam offering online prescriptions. Usually spammers come on with remedies for depressed limp cocks and diet pills for those who want to slim down. Then there are murkier offers of painkillers and tranquilizers. Some of these sites are obvious scams, demanding blank Western Union money orders, envelopes of cash mailed to Mexico, or a phone call to California that's answered with an unintelligible accent. Some are the real deal.
There are online pharmaciesknown in Net parlance as "ops"that FedEx their promise from a garage pharmacy to your door. Lately, these setups have attracted sensationalistic media attention charging quackery or just lowdown dirty drug dealing. Self, where ads revolve around fitness and vitamins, revived the old wheeze "a fool is his own physician." Message boards are full of rumors about stories on Dateline and 60 Minutes in the works. In reality, however, ops serve the needs of Americans who don't have health insurance, can't afford regular doctor visits, live in remote areas, or need to evade local prescribing guidelines.
Patrons include folks from every walk of American life. Many have children. Not the types to buy drugs illegally with the associated thrills and spills. More likely their insurance doesn't cover painful conditions like fibromyalgia, or surgery has left them with complications, or they don't want a psychiatric paper trail regarding their use of tranquilizers or antidepressants, or they have absorbed painkillers into their metabolisms and have no intention of giving them up. Op customers know what medicines they react well to. They have been prescribed them in the past. They cannot afford the money and aggravation of having a doctor refuse them meds they feel comfortable and functional on. The head of a leading op told me anonymously, "We're dealing with an upper socioeconomic bracket. Less than 1 percent of the patients we call are incoherent, can't spell their own name or repeat their phone number. I see the doctor have to briefly compose himself after these calls, but they are few and far between."
On bluntly titled message boards like findrxmeds.com and drugbuyers.com, you can find businessmen, artists, stewardesses, housewives. J.R., who lives in the Ozarks, has a bulging T-12 disk from an auto crackup but can't shell out $800 for an MRI. Katie, a flight attendant who lost two friends on 9-11 and is terrified to go back to work, is suffering from anxiety disorder on top of fibromyalgia. She was told by her chiropractor that she could buy pain medicine online. Dee, from suburban New York, once had a sympathetic doctor who was prescribing her 120 mg Percocet a month for her migraines, but then lost his ability to write narcotic Rx's. Madeline, a native New Yorker, can't get over 9-11 and has chronic back and leg pain that started with a subsequent apartment fire: "My whole world changed for the worse and with a deadly finality that day. It'll mark me forever. It was like being Best if kept off the board in the Best if kept off the board with an elm tree. That pain requires serious coverage. If I didn't get it from the ops, it'd be a worse scene for me."
Financially, mentally, and spiritually, the nation is in a depression. Jobs are hard to find and few provide affordable health coverage. Medicaid is only available to the zero-dollar destitute and useful mainly for emergency room visits, and in this day of welfare reform the few doctors who accept Medicaid frequently refuse to write painkiller prescriptions. New York state requires a triplicate form. So getting prescriptions is difficult for many Americans.
A doctor may write for benzodiazepinesthe Valium familyonce or twice before attempting to shuffle a patient off to a psychiatrist, and this after charging $100 to $250 per visit. Physical conditions that require narcotic analgesics come with the looming threat of the institution known as the pain clinic, the approximate inverse of that American gulag, the rehab. There you can be subjected to a battery of expensive tests, have your brain creepy-crawled by intrusive and dated psychological exams, receive useless treatments like biofeedback, and still not receive the medication you feel is right for you. Many pain clinics simply drain the patient's insurance money and waste their time. And even sympathetic doctors are in a tricky position, because they're required to report the Rx's they write to the DEA. If they write too many, they jeopardize their license.
Most reputable ops originate out of Florida, where offbeat businesses sprout like palm treestropicalrx.com, erxonline.com, aaamedsworldwide.com, norcoworldwide.com, and buymeds.com, the last now in limbo due to legal challenges. What people seek from ops is controlled-substance painkillers or tranquilizers in the Schedule III-V categoriesnot Schedule II narcotics like OxyContin, morphine, or Dilaudid. The most popular painkiller is the semisynthetic opioid hydrocodone compounded with acetaminophen, offered with anywhere from 325 to 750 mg of acetaminophen combined with 5, 7.5, or 10 mg of hydrocodone. Hydrocodone, originally invented as an antitussive, has dozens of formulations and generics, including Vicodin, Vicodin ES, Vicodin HP, Lorcet 10, Lortab 10, and Norco 10. In addition to relieving pain, hydrocodone can cause euphoria in sufficient doses, providing an "awake" feeling like that of a heroin-cocaine speedball. It has a longer half-life than many painkillers and is highly addictive.
Ops also do a large trade in benzodiazepine tranquilizers such as Xanax, Ativan, Klonopin, and Valium, which can be difficult to obtain from a physician on a regular basis2 mg "sticks" or diskettes of Xanax meet with special hostility from doctors. Other items for sale include muscle relaxants like Soma and Flexeril, potency or hair-loss remedies for the easily embarrassed, and antidepressants like Prozac and related SSRI medications. Pressed on doctors by drug salesmen who emphasize that they're not controlled substances, they are now shoved down patients' throats as a cure-all for anything from low-grade depression to post-traumatic stress.
Ops can function out of office suites or people's bedrooms. Two very visible and overpriced Florida ops, buymeds.com and tropicalrx.com, shared the same e-mailing list for potential customers. But customers got sick of Pharmanet, the garage pharmacy used by Buymeds. One never knew if the medicines had been sitting in the Miami sun, were old to begin with, or were exposed to heat in transit. With any op there are the usual e-commerce hasslesnondelivery, shorted quantities, credit card overbillingsbut many of these seem to be solved quickly as with any other business.
Two of the better ops, norcoworldwide.com and aaamedsworldwide.com, are located near each other in north-central Florida. After an online form listing physical complaints is filled out, a phone consultation is scheduled via e-mail. This basically consists of a few questions, not as coldly put as might appear. "What are you taking now? We offer those in 30, 60, and 90 quantity per month, which would you like? Do you know they're addictive? You're not getting them from anyone else, are you?" Click. The consultation costs $120, but medications are reasonably priced: at Norco, 90 tablets of Lortab 10 and Xanax 2 mg are $82 and $77, respectively. With the consultation good for two refills, prescription prices, apart from the overnight shipping ($28), are only slightly steeper than at many chain drugstores.
International ops (IOPs) present something of a legal risk, especially on quantities of three months or over, which the DEA can construe as enough for resale. Individuals who have ordered from IOPs have received what's known as a "love letter" from the DEA reporting that a package has been seized. If the recipient ignores it, likely nothing will happen. But challenge of the seizure notice sets the stage for legal repercussions from the DEA, and nobody wants that. Some IOPs are quite respectable and deliver slowly but surely, for instance www.pharma24.cc, located in Gibraltar. Under cold and cough remedies, Gibraltar features Perduretas Codeina retard 50 mg, which provides instant pain release when bitten into and chewed. Gibraltar also features one of Europe's most popular pain relievers, Contugesic 60, a time-released codeine derivative, dihydrocodeine. Invented around 1900 for upper respiratory infections and neuralgia, dihydrocodeine is described as a speedier version of codeine, and can offer up to 10 hours of pain relief.
The most offbeat of the IOPs is a secretive individual in the United Kingdom known as the Bioman, who makes no pretense of being a doctor or pharmacist. He goes so far as to offer free samples of Peduretas Codeina, Spanish Ambien, Contugesic 60, Aldonto (Spanish time-release tramadol), and an array of antidepressants, actually fronting samples before payment. Then he sends 20 tablets, all in the original blister packs in a discreet envelope. If you like the 20, you send $20 cash and he'll send 40 more pills. He'll continue doing it in quantities of 60 for three months at a time. The Bioman knowingly never sends enough pills to be construed as for resale.
Surprisingly, there is less overprescribing with ops than with unscrupulous Dr. Feelgoods who give patients enormous prescriptions before either cutting them off abruptly or passing them on to the rehabs they collude with. The limit on ops is usually 90 tablets, and if you use an op that shares the same mail-order pharmacy as your last op before the 25-day legal limit, your order will be bounced. In addition, it becomes cost-prohibitive to go to too many ops. Since ops are cheaper, safer, and easier to use than street-corner dealers, they avoid all Medicaid fraud or drug dealing criminality, and provide a legitimate prescription bottle if a drug test becomes necessary. It's less than a shock to learn that many of the same doctors' names turn up on bottles for different ops; some of the more courteous and obliging have earned word-of-mouth fame. The ops have put a great many street dealers out of business. In the long run, you're paying $1.25 to $2.50 for a pill a dealer would price at $5 to $6, without risk of arrest, burn, or no-show.
It's a free country, and that extends to choosing what medical technique is best for you, be it holistic, acupuncture, or pharmaceutical. The ops are performing a necessary service. Perhaps they're the first step toward the British system, in which many typical minor narcotic remedies are available over the counter and heroin is a legal drug for those who decide to live out their lives on it. Ops have gotten health care for the uninsured. They've cut into the business of the kind of callous doctor who'll tell someone to take Advil for a broken rib. They've even reduced street-corner drug dealing. Whatever the shady accusations, the bottom line is that ops have assuaged people's nerves and eased their pain in a war-torn, depressed America.
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Never under estimate the power of idiots in large groups
Edited by DrugBuyers (11/20/03 01:00 AM)
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lovepink
Goddess
Reged: 01/01/02
Posts: 1476
Loc: NYC Metro Area
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Re: "Never Underestimate the Power of Idiots in Large Groups" - is that a commentary on the article or your personal signature line? I'm guessing its the latter but someone wanted me to ask.
Thanks. 
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Lovepink
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TwG
Journeyman
Reged: 06/17/02
Posts: 70
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"But customers got sick of Pharmanet, the garage pharmacy used by Buymeds. One never knew if the medicines had been sitting in the Miami sun, were old to begin with, or were exposed to heat in transit. "
Hydrocodone is a very stable chemical, and would not degrade in the outside heat, they also take a very long time to start breaking down. I didn't have a problem with the article, it was kind of bias, but intresting all the same.
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Sky_Queen
Fly Girl
Reged: 12/03/02
Posts: 1983
Loc: Texas
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LOL LP! I was wondering the same thing? Surely it's just his tag, nothing but positive feedback on the article since it was posted on the 19th.
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bigdawg
Stranger
Reged: 08/08/03
Posts: 10
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Yes it is just my Tag. I read it on a bumper sticker and thougt it was funny.
Back to the article. what i would like to know is? did you think that the article was good, well written and what about naming the OPS i don't know I just cant see it as a good thing. but that was my knee jerk reaction. but then again i have always been a PVT person. I know anyone can google the info but i just hate seeing things like this in print. byt hey ive been wrong before
rick
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Never under estimate the power of idiots in large groups
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Sky_Queen
Fly Girl
Reged: 12/03/02
Posts: 1983
Loc: Texas
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My initial reaction was the same but I finally realized how important it is to get our side of the story out - no one is telling our story and Mr. Landis did a great job of this. Yeah, there was detailed info in the article but that info is easily obtained by anyone. I forwarded the article to several different news stations, etc. I just read a post where Tred called into CSPAN and was actually hung up on while telling our side of the story. Seems nobody wants to hear our side of the story - but we have to get it out there. 
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lovepink
Goddess
Reged: 01/01/02
Posts: 1476
Loc: NYC Metro Area
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Quote:
I didn't have a problem with the article, it was kind of bias, but intresting all the same.
Hi - I'm not sure in which way you thought the article was biased. I see it as biased toward chronic pain patients & toward the OPs & IOPs, a point of view (thankfully) totally opposite from the other "OPs are dangerous, evil, & promote drug addiction" articles recently circulating. Basically I see it as "our" side of the story.
To answer a question from another poster about what I thought of the article, I have to admit that I cannot view it neutrally...the author is a good friend of mine & I'm thrilled for him. Although I always cringe a bit when I see the names of our OPs/IOPs in print, I agree with Legitimate that a google search will result in the same information. Also, the subscribers and readers of the Village Voice tend to be alot more liberal, accepting, & free-thinking than readers of other papers...the Voice is a NYC-based alternative weekly, not a mainstream newspaper. If you get the chance, try to obtain a print copy of the Village Voice - after reading the other articles & advertisements you'll understand why I'm not worried about any negative consequences for our OPs as a result of the article.
Take Care
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Lovepink
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chevygal
Veteran
Reged: 04/28/03
Posts: 504
Loc: Way down south
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lp
Sounds like his tag and he is describing the DEA!
bigdawg, I was just thinking of the comments made by folks on here abut the dea and that tag seemed to fit LOL. Were you possibly thinking of them when you added it. 
chevygal
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chevygal
Veteran
Reged: 04/28/03
Posts: 504
Loc: Way down south
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lp
I had posted my thought when you first printed it, I liked the article but I was thinking the same thing as bigdawg, it scared me thinking how much attention it was goin to draw to op's and/or this site as drugbuyers was also mentioned. I did not think in the terms of what paper the article was in and what part of the population would read it. I didn't dawn on me that it was not going to be the conservative bandwagon jumping group that reads the N,Y, Times. I did think it was a very good article and I am glad you mentioned what ya did about the type of people that are readers of the Village Voice. THanks for bringing that to light for me. op's most definitly need support other than those of us that utilize them.
chevygal
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wildbill
Member
Reged: 04/28/03
Posts: 124
Loc: USA
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"Knee jerk" reaction or not.... the fact that you "didn't want to see in print" facts by a journalist who stuck his neck out for ops and op customers, making it a civil liberties issue, and implies some sort of shame - shame that none of us on this board should tolerate. This is is ONLY pro-op and pro-op customer story in a sea of bad, inaccurate, attackful and sensationalistic media attention.
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Jeremiah
Agape GrandParent
Reged: 07/14/02
Posts: 705
Loc: U.S.A.
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Thanks Legitimate and Bigdawg for posting this.
J.
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I can't see me lovin nobody but you,for all my life
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plotinus
Enthusiast
Reged: 09/16/03
Posts: 281
Loc: California
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Quote:
"Knee jerk" reaction or not.... the fact that you "didn't want to see in print" facts by a journalist who stuck his neck out for ops and op customers, making it a civil liberties issue, and implies some sort of shame - shame that none of us on this board should tolerate. This is is ONLY pro-op and pro-op customer story in a sea of bad, inaccurate, attackful and sensationalistic media attention.
I agree with you 100% - wildbill.
Where is this shame coming from?
Right now there is another thread going, fueled by mostly a bunch of newbies, that want to somehow purge DB of all the people, whom they deem to be inappropriately seeking drugs -- in order to "protect the legitimate OP's" -- bad enough we have the Fed's climbing all over us, but some of the customers themselves are trying to start a vigilante witch-hunt.
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"War on ...." is the wrong metaphor!
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wildbill
Member
Reged: 04/28/03
Posts: 124
Loc: USA
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Thanks Plotinus, Ol' Buddy-
I am complete civil libertarian and people supporting so called "legit" ops who want tons of medical records are just making it difficult for everyone. I believe - just like in certain European countries (or Tijuana!) - you should walk into a druggist and get whatever you want. It's your responsibility on how to take it, and the authority figures should get their faces out of our business with regard to how we medicate. And if you read the article carefully, none of the folks described in it was anything but all-American people who had Best if kept off the board good reason to be medicated and had no other choice than to go the ops route.
There's no "shame" in drug use or even being an addict - if you're a functional one and aren't out knocking over old ladies for their purses or being a second story B&E guy.
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shane369
Member
Reged: 03/07/02
Posts: 156
Loc: USA
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Quote:
In addition to relieving pain, hydrocodone can cause euphoria in sufficient doses, providing an "awake" feeling like that of a heroin-cocaine speedball
IMHO that is not the best analogy in the world to make.
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"Actually I'm a mouse in the early stages of an elaborate scheme to take over the world"
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actonbell
Journeyman
Reged: 09/08/03
Posts: 82
Loc: Oklahoma
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I got email from the editor of the Voice, thanking me for the email praising the story and wanted to know if he could use my name and city. I said sure and sent it in.
I know how yall feel, OP's are teetering of the brink of destruction and probably ANY publicity is bad, but it was so nice that someone told the truth unalloyed by any political agenda or moralizing.
I agree with Shane tho, that "speedball" line gave me a pause. It wasn't wise. Fuel for the fire I think. But overall the piece was good.
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All it takes to fly is to hurl yourself at the ground....and miss.
Edited by actonbell (10/26/03 10:04 AM)
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wildbill
Member
Reged: 04/28/03
Posts: 124
Loc: USA
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"speedball" line was honest from experience.
And it's better people do these than street drugs, no?
It's one of the reasons hydro has gotten so popular.
There should be no shame about drug usage. None whatsoever.
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bigdawg
Stranger
Reged: 08/08/03
Posts: 10
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Quote:
"Knee jerk" reaction or not.... the fact that you "didn't want to see in print" facts by a journalist who stuck his neck out for ops and op customers, making it a civil liberties issue, and implies some sort of shame - shame that none of us on this board should tolerate. This is is ONLY pro-op and pro-op customer story in a sea of bad, inaccurate, attackful and sensationalistic media attention.
Well how far do you think he stuck his neck out? When I first got out of college one of my first jobs was in NYC at Mt Siani Hospt. 98th and 5 ave. I live in the East Village for 2 years and read the Village Voice from time to time, to call it a liberal pub. Is something of an understatement. Not that I have a problem w/ this I was just pointing out the fact that not many advertisers are going to pull their ads because of this article? Just how do you think he stuck out his neck?
As far a being ashamed, nothing could be further from the truth. But hey look around at the world we live in. I now live in rural SC. the Best if kept off the board media frenzy about the so called hillbilly heroin (OC) has all the Drs here scared to death to write anything stronger than Tylenol. The Sheriff of my county was named to the SC Pharmaceutical Drug Czar. so when I started to look for another viable source to relive my pain, I didnt have the time to go from Dr to Dr to find THE compassionate Doctor and my work has me travel extenislivy and prior to finding DBS I was ripped off, often. But since then ive learned. I went to yod and posted my results for the rest of the board to read. I gave back to the ppl that set me in the right direction. But like I said I am a pvt person. I read this board frequently but rarely post, not because I am ashamed but up until I came across the article I have had nothing to say. Sorry about the rant I just wanted to set the record straight
Dawg
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Never under estimate the power of idiots in large groups
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TwG
Journeyman
Reged: 06/17/02
Posts: 70
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It was bias cause it didn't show the other side of OPs, the truth is that not everyone goes to OPs for relief of physical pain. Some people goto OPs to get drugs for recreational use, as well as drug dealers using OPs to get large amounts of hydrocodone. The same goes for regular doctors as well, but ignoring it doesn't mean it doesn't happen.
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wildbill
Member
Reged: 04/28/03
Posts: 124
Loc: USA
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He stuck his neck out PLENTY - as much as he stuck his neck out writing "Hooked - The Madness in Methadone Maintenance" (1988) which attacked NYC's way of managing the program; got the worst precinct (6th in East Village) to buckle when he wrote Point of Return about the Needle Exchange - which made it a health matter to PREVENT HIV - and was reproduced in 2 books, one by the ACLU - and has written some very personal and courageous autobiographical articles about his life in the red light district in Times Square.
And no, he's not in NYC now, he's in a tiny fishbowl community where it took guts to say these things. NO ONE has stuck up for ops or their customers, mind you, it's just been one media smear after another.
So if you knew who Bill Landis was and were familiar with his 20+ year body of work including 2 books, he's used to fighting against hypocrisy and even risking lawsuits when telling the truth.
SO WHAT you lived in the East Village briefly. Bill Landis has lived through more than most do in several lifetimes and LIVED despite some serious odds against him, has always stuck up for people - be it sex workers who have it rough in the old Times Square - to people who use ops.
Get your facts straight about who you're talking about.
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wcs42
Member
Reged: 03/25/03
Posts: 143
Loc: ky usa
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Quote:
Quote:
"Knee jerk" reaction or not.... the fact that you "didn't want to see in print" facts by a journalist who stuck his neck out for ops and op customers, making it a civil liberties issue, and implies some sort of shame - shame that none of us on this board should tolerate. This is is ONLY pro-op and pro-op customer story in a sea of bad, inaccurate, attackful and sensationalistic media attention.
I agree with you 100% - wildbill. Where is this shame coming from? Right now there is another thread going, fueled by mostly a bunch of newbies
Bunch of newbies now that is funny. Everyone on one this board should be able to post there opinion. I happen to agree with wild bill. But i do not take offense if anyone else in DB does not agree with me. Lighten up folks . Everyone have a great evening.... wcs
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"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty or safety" Ben Franklin
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plotinus
Enthusiast
Reged: 09/16/03
Posts: 281
Loc: California
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Quote:
Bunch of newbies now that is funny. Everyone on one this board should be able to post there opinion. I happen to agree with wild bill. But i do not take offense if anyone else in DB does not agree with me. Lighten up folks . Everyone have a great evening....
wcs -- since you and I agree with wildbill, we are inferrably exactly the "drug seekers" that this crew wants to eliminate from the board. I have nothing against newbies per se, but how would you want me relate the fact that most of the contributors had made 5 or less posts, atleast in their current incarnations?
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"War on ...." is the wrong metaphor!
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Beetlenut
Threadhead
Reged: 09/09/02
Posts: 765
Loc: Colorado
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Quote:
"But customers got sick of Pharmanet, the garage pharmacy used by Buymeds. One never knew if the medicines had been sitting in the Miami sun, were old to begin with, or were exposed to heat in transit. "
No, ACTUALLY, how 'bout we do a little real investigative reporting here  ! Customers got sick of Pharmanet because it is the most expensive of ANY on-line pharmacy, was TOTALLY unreliable, changed ownership 666 different times, never returned their messages, and if you were lucky enough to actually get through you could converse with the PINHEADS manning the phones.
And I must agree with Lovepink that this article indeed had an opposite philosophic tone to the deluge of "OP Raided" articles that have suddenly hit the press. Republican rags!
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