An online pharmacy is a place where medicines are sold online through the website or online store. It could include both legal and illegal pharmacy. Buying medicine online is a convenient and less expensive way to get the medicines but the availability of illegal pharmacy could be putting your health on risk.
In Canada, the licensing of the pharmacies is done through provincial and territorial pharmacy regulatory authority that is an associate of the national association of pharmacy regulatory authorities.
Buying medicine online could be risky: You could find some of the pharmacy websites that might look trustworthy but they might not be. It is important for you to check whether the pharmacy is legal or not.
The Online Pharmacy Might be Illegal if:
- Doesn’t requires a valid prescription.
- Sell the drugs that claim to do a miracle in critical illness.
- Sells the drugs at very cheap or discounted rates.
- Claims to deliver medicine all over the world.
- Doesn’t give a proper business address.
- It could be located out of Canada.
- In the online pharmacy industry, there is almost 96 per cent of pharmacies are illegal and more than 70 per cent of online pharmacy source drugs from outside of Canada.
Buying Medicines from Illegal Online Pharmacy Could put Your Health in Danger it is Because:
- You could take a drug that might have wrong or harmful ingredients or no medical ingredient in it.
- Your condition might not get better or even gets worse.
- You could have some kind of reaction if you take the wrong drug.
- Most important your personal data and banking information might get stolen.
So how Would you Know if the Online Pharmacy is Legal or not?
There are certain ways to know if the pharmacy is legal and provide you with the correct drugs if it:
- Asks for a valid prescription of a physician or other health professionals who are licensed to practice in Canada.
- Is the license is issued by provincial or territorial pharmacy regulatory authority in Canada.
- Is the licensed pharmacist is available to answer your questions.
- Provides a valid business address in Canada.
There are ways to know about the legitimacy of an online pharmacy and they are:
Valid License:
The website you find with a Canadian address cross-check it with the pharmacy regulatory authority and know if the pharmacy has a valid license. If you are looking for such pharmacies.
There are various ways by which you can identify a Fake Pharmacy!
They don’t ask your prescriptions- It is a red flag if your pharmacies don’t ask for any medications before accepting your order. Fake pharmacies, in most cases, offer generic medicines without the need for a medical prescription. Also, keep in mind that in most countries, it is illegal to sell generic drugs without a prescription.
Cheap and unbelievable offers – This is the other thing to look for if any pharmacy is offering medicines at dirt-cheap prices compared to other online stores. If you have any doubt, try to contact their customer support and clear your doubts. You might think that you can save some money by purchasing fake pharmacies, but the quality is not guaranteed and can be life-threatening.
Many Don’t Have License – Every pharmacy will have a valid license from the state or province in which they are functioning. The license number is often displayed right on the company’s website to support its legitimacy. Once you locate a license number, call the regulatory agency that issued the license to ensure it is legitimate.
Information about Drugs – Look for an online pharmacy that has ample knowledge about every drug, including potential side effects and drug interactions. The more information you receive about the medication you are taking, the more you will be confident of that medicine. This is particularly important with an online pharmacy since you will not have to arrange a meeting with a pharmacist who can answer your questions or offer advice.
Shipping Policies – Shipping policies vary among online pharmacies, so shop around for the best deal as per your medical needs. You also want to find a pharmacy that ships prescriptions quickly and offer free delivery on medical supplies.
Customer Service Support – Always trust those online stores that offer customer support services. This is the perfect way to get in touch and get answers to all your queries. Most consumers prefer a phone number or at least a live chat option so that they can speak with an actual person about their concerns, rather than waiting for a response via other means.
Discrete Ordering – We live in a digital world; always check the website offers a secure gateway to order the essentials. Trust a website that offers SSL and do not share your medical history as well as your credit card number. Probably the most important thing to note that an online pharmacy store must be able to provide various brands and generics medicines that you are looking for.
Address:
If the website has provided the Canadian address you can also check whether the pharmacy is associated with pharmacy-verified websites program that is an American program to help the consumer to know safe and legal online pharmacy.
Reporting Issues:
The health Canada has made a health product complaint form to report any complaint about health products bought online. One can also report any chronic reactions by med effect Canada.
If you have been cheated or you have faced and debit or credit card fraud you can report it to Canadian anti-fraud center which is managed by royal Canadian mounted police with Competition Bureau and Ontario Provincial Police. They collect all the information of illegal online pharmacies to enforce legitimate action against them.
You can find many online pharmacies online that claim to be the genuine, licensed or legal, but you should check the above mentioned factors to make the right selection. You can easily find the licensed and authentic online pharmacies and make getting meds easier and simpler process without any hassle.
