News & Updates
The Latest on Internet Pharmacies, Supplements, Designer Drugs,
and Other High-Risk Merchants
The Top Marketing Claims CBD Merchants and Manufacturers Should Avoid
One of the aspects of cannabidiol (CBD) sales that can attract regulatory scrutiny is the way in which merchants market their CBD products. In the past five years, the FDA has sent many warning letters to manufacturers and merchants of CBD products for claims that their products can prevent, cure, mitigate, or treat diseases. No…
LegitScript Announces New CBD Certification Program
We’re happy to announce a new certification program for legally compliant CBD products and websites. Starting today, US manufacturers and merchants can apply through LegitScript to certify CBD products and websites that are in compliance with USDA, FDA, FTC, and DEA regulations, as well as state-specific laws. LegitScript is the global leader in merchant and…
LegitScript Revises Pricing of Addiction Treatment Certification to Reflect Expanded Benefits and to Help Nonprofits Facing Hardship
Starting in July, drug and alcohol addiction treatment providers that are certified by LegitScript will see revised pricing that reflects expanded benefits and takes into consideration a new initiative to help certify nonprofit addiction treatment providers facing hardship. These changes reflect the improved experience of addiction treatment providers who are currently certified, and help level…
The Rising Threat of Unwashed Poppy Seeds
As e-commerce platforms, payment service providers, and regulatory agencies crack down on illicit opioid sales on the internet, many consumers are turning to alternative products, either to replicate the effects of opioids or to aid in opioid withdrawal. Many of these products, however, are unregulated, illegal, and potentially dangerous. LegitScript analysts have recently identified a…
Will CVS’ New Policy Flood the Online Space with Bad Supplements?
CVS announced in May a new policy that requires all vitamins and dietary supplements in the store to be third-party tested for safety and label accuracy. The “Tested to Be Trusted” program is an innovative initiative to weed out problematic supplements, but will it create new problems for e-commerce platforms and payment service providers operating…
Why a CBD Merchant Account is Still Hard to Get, and What You Can Do About It
CBD merchant accounts are still difficult for CBD producers, merchants, and retailers to get, despite the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill, which legalized hemp and hemp-derived CBD with THC levels of no more than 0.3 percent. Why are payment service providers still wary about onboarding CBD merchants? The answer lies in the fact that…
Today’s Multilevel Marketing: New Look, Same Risk for Payment Service Providers
Today’s multilevel marketing (MLM) organizations look nothing like the Amway and Herbalife of the past. Cosmetics and nutritional supplements may still dominate the industry, but companies have expanded into product lines of every sort: essential oils, kitchen gadgets, yoga pants, software, consulting, and pretty much anything else you can imagine. This product expansion, combined with…
CBD Demand is Causing a Rise in Transaction Laundering
One of the most pervasive threats to payment service providers is transaction laundering — which is often used to process credit card transactions for illicit pharmaceuticals or intellectual property infringement, but increasingly is used for cannabidiol (CBD) products. Since the change in legal status of certain forms of CBD as a result of the 2018…
What the Blackstone Labs Indictment Means for Payment Service Providers
Last month, six people associated with Blackstone Labs were charged in an indictment to market and sell illegal dietary supplements for use in bodybuilding and weight loss. The indictment is significant because of the size and reach of Blackstone Labs, and because of the way it is alleged to have deceptively labeled products for years.…
Q&A with Evan Ratliff, Author of The Mastermind
In 2012, LegitScript estimated that at least half of the rogue online pharmacies in the world were registered through ABSystems, a registrar operated by criminal mastermind Paul Le Roux. This massive network of online pharmacies, which fell under the umbrella of an operation called RX Limited, facilitated the sale of prescription drugs to US customers…