Obtaining Pharmaceuticals Through Alternative Means
There are some alternatives that you can take advantage of in order to get many medications that you need without the difficulties mentioned above. Some fall into grey areas of the law whereas other options are completely legal and worth looking into. However, the bottom line is that you can take advantage of these opportunities in order to save money and build up your medicinal stockpile.
Veterinary Drugs
One of the grey areas involves getting pharmaceuticals from veterinary supply shops. The prescription requirements vary based on the medication that you are trying to obtain, but you will be amazed at what items are available. Obtaining antibiotics is a popular option. You can find the same items that doctors prescribe to humans for a fraction of the cost.
Crossing the Border
If you have a prescription, especially one that has multiple refills, consider going to another country to stock up. This is a common practice and a huge industry along our border with Mexico as well as some islands in the Caribbean. As long as you have a prescription, you can bring medications back into the United States with no questions asked in most circumstances. While rules vary with respect to how much you can bring back, even the standard two to three month allowance can be more than enough.
You may also be surprised to learn how cheap medications tend to be in other countries. These savings can be in the thousands of dollars for some of the more expensive drugs here in the United States. This alone should be enough to motivate people to investigate this option further.
Talking to Your Doctor
Sometimes simply talking to your doctor is enough to get your hands on some extra medication. This is especially true if you have a history with a physician who knows that you won’t abuse the drugs. This is a common practice for patients who travel for extended periods of time, and you can take advantage of it as well if you play your cards right.
What to Avoid
You should always try to talk to your doctor or find one who will help before trying alternative methods. It’s important to make sure that the supplier is providing you with authentic medication and is in business legally. Keep in mind that hundreds of thousands of people cross the border every year for medication. However, it’s important to choose
pharmacies wisely and only go to ones that have established reputations.
It used to be very easy to get medications from online pharmacies in other countries as long as you had a prescription, but the government has been cracking down on this practice for the past few years. Make sure that you really investigate the legality as well as the authenticity of online pharmacies before you whip out your debit or credit card and place an order. The same applies to online veterinary pharmacies as well.
There are also many other, less-than-legal ways to obtain medication when needed, but these won’t be discussed here. However, it won’t take a lot of imagination or online research to discover how to get stocked up on your meds through these avenues as well. The bottom line is that there are many ways to get extra supplies of medications if you know where to look and what to do. Plan ahead, think of your needs and start taking steps to ensure that you will have enough on hand during a crisis or SHTF scenario.
