How many pills is it "safe" to include in one order?

[Back2Good]

Indeed, Charon - I only used "personal use" in the context that small orders are far and away the least likely to result in anything but an LL - They will simply be destroyed, for no other reason than budget and resource constraints.  Nothing on the websites of the federal agencies responsible for enforcing interstate or international importation laws indicates that any drug importation or re importation is permitted under their guidelines; to wit:

The above guidance does not specify that a U.S. citizen may import an unapproved drug only with a prescription from a U.S. licensed physician, or that a foreign citizen may import an unapproved new drug only with a foreign prescription. Rather, to ensure that the importation is for personal use only (and not for resale), and to ensure that the use of the unapproved new drug sought to be imported into the U.S. is supervised and does not represent an unreasonable risk, the guidance provides that the individual affirm in writing that the drug is for his or her personal use, and provide either the name and address of the U.S. licensed physician who will supervise its use or some evidence that the treatment was begun in a foreign country/area and that the drugs are being imported to continue/conclude the already begun treatment. Thus, while not the only documentation, either a U.S. or foreign prescription, along with an affirmation of personal use, could be supplied as evidence that this factor exists.

The guidance also provides that the importation should generally not represent more than a 3 month supply of the unapproved products. The purpose for this provision is in keeping with the intent that the guidance relate to only drugs for personal use, not commercial distribution. As the document sets forth only guidance, the 3 month limitation is not a "requirement" or a "restriction." If an individual presents evidence that he or she requires more than a 3 month supply for the full treatment of his or her illness, and it appears that the reordering of a one or two month additional amount may be inappropriate, FDA may consider the release of the full amount. Similarly, if a foreign traveler to the U.S. seeks to import unapproved drugs during his or her stay in the U.S., the amount sought to be imported should represent the amount needed for personal use during the U.S. visit. Where the evidence appears to indicate that the drugs may be imported for commercial distribution, the guidance provides that FDA should refuse admission of such drugs.

It must be emphasized that the intent of the personal use importation guidance is to save FDA resources and to generally permit, through the exercise of enforcement discretion, medical treatments sought by individuals that are not otherwise available in the United States (where such treatments are not promoted/commercialized in the U.S.). Thus, foreign-made chemical versions of drugs available in the U.S. are not intended to be covered by the policy. For example, a person may decide that his or her FDA approved heart medication is cheaper in Mexico, and attempt to import the unapproved version of the drug from Mexico. FDA cannot assure that such products have been properly manufactured and are effective; therefore, given that such products are available in the U.S., their use would present an unreasonable risk and the guidance would not apply (unless the person seeking their importation could establish that the drugs were needed to refill a prescription while traveling or were otherwise needed while traveling).

Likewise, a drug such as Valium is available in the U.S. and, as such, a foreign-made version of the U.S. approved drug would not generally be considered a candidate to be permitted entry under the guidance. However, because the United States D** may have specific requirements that apply to the importation of controlled substances such as Valium, FDA's guidance on personal importations specifically provides that controlled substances should be returned to Customs for handling.

And D** is even more specific:

Federal law prohibits buying controlled substances such as narcotic pain relievers (e.g., OxyContin®, Vicodin®), sedatives (e.g., Valium®, Xanax®, Ambien®), stimulants (e.g., phentermine, phendimetrazine, Adderall®, Ritalin®) and anabolic steroids (e.g., Winstrol®, Equipoise®) without a valid prescription from your doctor. This means there must be a real doctor-patient relationship, which by most state laws requires a physical examination. Prescriptions written by "cyber doctors" relying on online questionnaires are not legitimate under the law.

Buying controlled substances online without a valid prescription may be punishable by imprisonment under Federal law. Often drugs ordered from rogue websites come from foreign countries. It is a felony to import drugs into the United States and ship to a non-D** registrant.

Buying drugs online may not be only illegal, but dangerous. The American Medical Association and state boards of medicine and pharmacy have all condemned the practice of cyber doctors issuing online prescriptions as unacceptable medical care. Drugs delivered by rogue websites may be the wrong drugs, adulterated or expired, the wrong dosage strength, or have no dosage directions or warnings.

D** is targeting rogue online pharmacies for prosecution and shutting down these illegal websites.

Budget and resource constraints are the reason LL's even exist - If these agencies had the money and personnel to prosecute every single order that was interdicted by Customs, they'd do so.  Fortunately for us, they don't, and have to use their own discretionary guidelines as to when more action than an LL is warranted.