DrugBuyers.Com: what is this?

Dave,

I take your point, but I do have to disagree with you. We could split hairs over semantics, but until there are a substantial base of specific findings that determine OP's operate outside the boundaries of the law, aren't they afforded the presumption of innocence?

True, some have been acted against, but those are individual entities, and not the segment as a whole. I'm sure that some people do avail themselves to medications by misrepresenting their health status, but it is they whose actions conflict with the law, not the OP's themselves.

I will grant you that an OP cannot stand on the same set of classicly familiar operating principles as traditional pharmacies or prescribers. However, different does not necessarily equate to illegal, and provided that care is provided in a good-faith manner on a responsible basis, and I fully acknowledge that there are some malevolent OP's who operate solely for profit at the expense of patient care and outside the law, reasonably branding the entire market segment as illicit becomes even more difficult.

The fact that even the most zealous regulatory officials have not been able to intervene at will furthers the point that even they are unsure of what they believe to be most true. To do so effectively, new and specifically-crafted legislation has been the common remedy as evidenced in Nevada, where the practice was not specifically illegal before.

Now, taking the discussion out of a vacuum and into the real world, the final form of this industry is likely to exist somewhere in the middle of where it is today as the merits of its responsible and appropriate practice become more apparent, and the means of deterring its illicit use come to be. It may be a bit of the "Wild West" at the moment, but let's remember that it was once legal to shoot someone for stealing a horse. (I think in Texas you still can.

)

Regardless of its final form, I would hope that an industry emerges that provides the elightened and open access to medications, even the strongest ones, to patients who need them. I don't think the answer is self-medication, but I do believe patients are tragically undervalued and patronized in terms of their own care. Much of my professional work focuses on changing the paradigm of practice toward this goal, but it remains an unfortunately long way off. Having said that, and coming from the point of view of having an established career in traditional pharmacy operation and management, I believe that OP's serve a very valuable legitimate purpose, and that the segment deserves a sanctioned arena in which to practice, and much of what I do focuses toward achieving that goal.

Just my $.02 for the kitty.