FairTaxNow said:
If you mean legal as in a congressionally written statute that allows the free trade of medication than you're right. That doesn't exist. Though it is also not illegal in the sense that you will be arrested or fined for purchasing hair loss medications from unitedpharmacies.com eithers. Google the policy from customs. They state their enforcement policies are lax on non-controlled medications for personal use for up to a 90 day supply.
Either it's illegal or it's not. There's no gray area in this matter. The fact that it may or may not be enforced is irrelevant....but since you mentioned it, do a search on this forum and you will in fact find many examples of confiscation.
This sounds like you are pitting up Merck vs. Cipla vs. Dr. Reddy's. All 3 are well known and established companies. If these indian manufacturers have FDA approved medications that they are allowed to export into our country than what makes you think their manufacturing facilities produce finasteride in a manner of less quality?
I don't know that they're of lesser quality. I also don't know that they're not. Neither do you.
Apart from that, however, is the supply chain through which your order proceeds...after it departs from the manufacturer but before it gets to you in an unmarked box from various offshore locations. That's where the seediness really revs up.
There is no assurance with walgreens and merck either. You don't witness the process of your medication being manufactured up until the point that you receive it in a container. Granted the risk is low but it is also considerably low when ordering from a respected online pharmacy.
I don't dispute that that there
could be a problem with Merck and/or Walgreens, but comparing getting medication from a US pharmacy to getting loose strips of pills from the third world is truly absurd. By the way, I also find buying Merck-labeled finasteride from these internet sources to be equally dubious.
I understand that Dr. Reddy's now has an FDA approved finasteride tablet available via prescription in the US. Have no problem with that whatsoever. Again, it's not necessarily the idea of the medication's manufacturer (although neither you nor I are qualified to give it a thumbs up or down when procured illegally), but the ??? of where/how/when it's sourced and how it's handled in between. If you're buying a bag of marbles, it probably doesn't matter. When you're buying pharmaceuticals, it certainly does.
Irrelevant to most of us. Again, go with a known and respected online pharmacy. UP's customer service is top notch, probably better than Walgreens even. They have a phone number, and an email address.
I understand your position, but to me it's a foolish one. Do as you wish...but to the extent that some cry about their hair here, it would seem logical to go with the known real McCoy. I also find it reckless to advise young guys to to source from an internet outfit for all the reasons I've stated above.
Are you saying that because it alters your blood chemistry and hormone levels is the reason it's a prescription medication?
Yes.
I'm sure you do have herbs and other things that can do more damage. I have a chainsaw that will do more damage than either. Neither your herbs nor my chainsaw have anything to do with why finasteride is a prescription medication.
I'm not anti-doctor. My doctor is great, though she doesn't know very much about male pattern baldness and I'm NOT going to ditch a great doctor who can save my life, because she knows less about a condition than I do.
Good, I agree with your above rationale 100%. That doesn't mean you can't keep her as your GP and find another one to give you access to legitimate product and monitor you periodically while it's administered.