Pronunciation: KOH-deen
Chemical Abstracts Service Registry Number: 76-57-3. (Phosphate hemihydrate form 41444-62-6)
Formal Names: BRON, Methylmorphine, Tylenol №3
Informal Names: AC/DC, Barr, C, Captain Cody, Co-Dine, Cody, Coties, Cough Syrup, Down, Homebake, Karo, Lean, Lean & Dean, Nods, Schoolboy, Syrup, T-3s. With glutethimide: Doors & 4, 4 Doors, Hits, Loads, Packets, Pancakes & Syrup, Sets, 3s & 8s
Type: Depressant (opiate class).
Federal Schedule Listing: Schedule II, III, V controlled substance, depending on product formulation (DEA no. 9050)
USA Availability: Prescription and nonprescription
Pregnancy Category: C

Codeine Phosphate [Tylenol №3] Uses. Codeine was discovered in 1832 by French chemist Pierre-Jean Robiquet. Typically it is derived from the more potent drug morphine, which, depending on dosage route (oral, injection), is considered about 3 to 12 times stronger than codeine. After codeine is administered, body chemistry transforms it back into morphine; thus employer drug screens on someone who used a codeine cough remedy can be positive for morphine. Basically codeine is a prodrug, a substance having little medicinal effect itself but that the body transforms into a useful drug—in this case, morphine. Although scientists have long believed that codeine’s therapeutic effects come from morphine, as the twenty-first century began, one group of researchers reported that persons whose bodies cannot properly convert codeine into morphine can nonetheless experience medical benefit from codeine itself. Read the rest of this entry »

Pronunciation: kloh-NA-zuh-pam
Chemical Abstracts Service Registry Number: 1622-61-3
Formal Names: Iktorivil, Klonopin, Lansden, Rivotril
Type: Depressant (benzodiazepine class). See page 21
Federal Schedule Listing: Schedule IV (DEA no. 2737)
USA Availability: Prescription
Pregnancy Category: D

Clonazepam [Klonopin/Rivotril] Uses. Clonazepam is considered one of the more powerful benzodiazepine class drugs. Primary medical uses are against some kinds of convulsions, particularly in certain kinds of epilepsy, and against panic attacks. For persons suffering from panic attacks, measurements indicate the drug improves both quality of life and work productivity. The drug is also used as an antidepressant and to treat anxiety, catatonia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, the manic phase of manic-depressive behavior, and social phobia in general. A two-year follow-up study of persons receiving brief clonazepam treatment for social phobia found their improvement to be sustained after dosage stopped, and at the two-year mark they were doing better than a control group that had received a placebo. Clonazepam is sometimes preferred over alprazolam in treating anxiety because that condition seems less likely to reappear between doses of clonazepam than between doses of alprazolam. Read the rest of this entry »

Health Concerns

There are valid health concerns associated with online prescriptions, including whether the patient has other health concerns which might be affected by a prescription drug. While most pharmacies that offer online prescription services limit themselves to offering drugs that are relatively safe even when misused, any presciption medication can pose health risks or can result in a negative interaction with other prescription and non-prescription medications, and even with dietary supplements. A doctor can advise a patient about side-effects, and warning signs that indicate that the patient should stop taking a medication. An online pharmacy may provide little guidance, typically at most providing written instruction about taking the drug. Read the rest of this entry »

As online pharmacies gain a larger share of the prescription drug market, consumers must be aware of the possible problems associated with obtaining an online prescription for a medication, or purchasing a drug online. These issues become even more significant when ordering from overseas pharmacies, including those in Mexico.

Are Online Pharmacies Legal?

In general, a United States resident with a valid prescription may bring into the country up to ninety (90) days supply of a medication for personal use. While it was historically possible to order such medicines over the Internet, regulations now require that the medications be brought back in person, and exclude the import of controlled substances. While a number of online pharmacies operate from overseas locations, if their shipments of medicine into the United States are detected the medication will be seized. Read the rest of this entry »