No prescription needed
Selling a prescription drug without a prescription is unlawful.
CAUTIONS / RED FLAGS
Pause when the sales pitch skips the care
A polished page can still hide the two names that matter: the licensed doctor or nurse practitioner, and the licensed pharmacy.
SEARCH→CHECK→CARE
Four red flags
“Research only” label, sold for people
A research-only label does not cancel claims about weight, healing, or hormones on the sales page.
Compounded and “approved”
A made-to-order drug cannot truthfully be presented as approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Pharmacy kept secret
Without the name of the pharmacy filling the order, the state licence check cannot be finished.
A label can be checked
The FDA has found fake compounded weight-loss vials bearing the name of a pharmacy that did not exist.
Fake medicine has also turned up among the ordinary companies that move drugs to US pharmacies, so a familiar-looking box is not enough on its own.
MYTH / TAP TO CHECK
A logo, seal, or money-back badge proves the site was checked.
THE FACT
The Federal Trade Commission warns that seals, logos, and guarantees on a health site can be faked. Confirm the licence in the licensing board’s own record.
If a problem already happened
California sends complaints about a doctor or nurse to that person’s licensing board and pharmacy complaints to the State Board of Pharmacy. Billing disputes alone usually fall outside those boards' work.
Where these facts come fromGOVERNMENT PAGES
These links open the public records used for this chapter.