Blog Articles

Photo from the National Drug-Free Work Alliance. At least two people are dead and many more are facing disturbing symptoms linked to the use of synthetic cannabinoids purchased mostly in and around Chicago, Illinois. According to the Illinois Department of Health (IDPH), contaminated cannabinoid products – some of which have tested positive for rat poison…

Healthcare merchants operating legally online may wonder why they need certification when they are already properly licensed. What they may fail to realize is that the online healthcare space – including internet pharmacies, telemedicine providers, eyewear merchants, and more – is rife with bad actors offering products and services that are illegal and potentially dangerous….

As mentioned in our last post, LegitScript has noticed a trend to market kratom as an opioid alternative and an opiate withdrawal aid. Today, we’re taking a closer look at this plant, which has been the subject of some recent alarming warnings by the FDA. Kratom, also known as Mitragyna speciosa, is a tree that grows naturally in…

In a public health crisis, some people see suffering while others see profits. The Food and Drug Administration frequently warns consumers about fraudulent or unapproved products that sprout up during disease outbreaks such as Zika, H1N1, or Ebola. But what about a different kind of outbreak – the opioid epidemic? More than 64,000 Americans died…

Recent news is replete with stories about the potential of stem cell therapy as well as cautionary tales about unscrupulous stem cell clinics that promise cures for chronic diseases but fail to deliver. Confusion over stem cell therapy is widespread enough that, in late 2017, the FDA Commissioner issued a statement promising a comprehensive policy…

  US household debt hit an all-time high in 2017, driven in part by an increase in credit card balances and an uptick in serious delinquencies, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Center for Microeconomic Data. That means more desperate consumers looking for relief. Debt settlement companies pitch their services as a…

  Is redemption possible for rogue internet healthcare merchants? We’d like to think so. That’s why LegitScript introduced the probationary certification status late last year, and how the operators of the once-rogue UK website chemist-4-u.com came to be one of our first pharmacies approved under this classification. A Problematic Premium Subdomain. In August 2016, we…

Canadian internet pharmacist Kristjan Thorkelson had his license reinstated by the College of Pharmacists of Manitoba only days after the regulatory authority suspended him, according to a report by CBC News. The sudden reversal reinforces LegitScript’s assertion that Canadian regulation of these internet pharmacies is inadequate for protecting US consumers. The Canadian regulatory authority confirmed…

Google now accepts LegitScript’s Healthcare Merchant Certification for advertisers of pharmaceuticals and other healthcare-related products in the US and Canada. This means that healthcare merchants who are certified and monitored by LegitScript can advertise on Google AdWords, Shopping, and DoubleClick Bid Manager (DBM) without ads being paused or suspended for not complying with this new…

Every day at LegitScript, we use our unique analytical and research skills to dismantle rogue pharmacies and disrupt illicit operations around the world. Our analysts identified more than 26,000 rogue internet pharmacies in 2017. The work may sound pretty analytical, but we often find levity in none other than the rogue internet pharmacies themselves. Criminals…