3 ms·

It's remarkable how often my Instagram ads try to sell me Viagra and ketamine.

seattle_spring 3y ago
Lots of people that match your demographic must be depressed with ED! A bit different though, as those are legal. OP article is about illegal / Schedule I sales.
- Pokerface777 3y ago
  > A bit different though, as those are legal. I don't think it's legal to sell prescription drugs without a prescription...
  - tazu 3y ago
    I'm sure those ads are for pill-mills (similar to chat-based "therapy" [1]) where you chat with a licensed MD (probably receiving kickbacks) for 5 minutes and get a prescription for those substances. [1]: https://www.betterhelp.com/ https://www.betterhelp.com/
    - bookofjoe 3y ago
      Yes. See: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39702713 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39702713
      - Pokerface777 3y ago
        I thought they were somewhat a thing of the past... I guess profits always wins.
  - seanmcdirmid 3y ago
    I’m guessing we are just discussing the states right? It’s OTC in a few other countries.
    - Pokerface777 3y ago
      right across the border in Mexico there's a pharmacy literally at every corner near San Diego, and no prescriptions are needed, you are correct.... The one at stopped at the lady let me know that she was watching the show Breaking Bad on the TV behind me... she was old and asked the other lady to get out of the store before we started doing business... she would not sell me Fentanyl though. She would only sell oxys, percs, and other stuff. I didn't buy anything though.
      - chasd00 3y ago
        You’re not getting what you think you’re getting at those pharmacies though. They’re just selling labels of what Americans will buy and filling the vials with whatever they can find. The reason even pretending to sell fentanyl is off limits is because that puts them in competition with real drug dealers (even if the fentanyl is fake) which is incompatible with life.
  - stavros 3y ago
    Hims will take you through a consultation and write you a prescription, it's very well regulated, AFAIK. We (Numan.com, a provider in the same category) certainly are, often, by multiple regulatory bodies.
- helsinkiandrew 3y ago
  >OP article is about illegal / Schedule I sales. Article is about illegal sale of legal prescription drugs - Adderal and opioid painkillers etc.
happytiger 3y ago
Like together as one pill? Weird.
- cj 3y ago
  I get the same ads. Viagra is from sites like hims.com. Ketamine is from sites like mindbloom.com. I commonly see similar ads for Testosterone, antidepressants, and Adderal is another common one. I also get targeted with semaglutide drugs (e.g. Ozempic, Wegovy) except the ads aren't brand name. They use compound pharmacies I think to avoid using specific brands and avoid FDA approval. I'm kind of surprised it's possible to get these drugs without getting brand name given patents, etc, but I don't know the whole history of GLP drugs or whether the compound pharmacy is a loophole of some kind. Most of the ads I see seem legitimate and aren't obviously illegal. But maybe getting stuff like Testosterone from an online virtual doc visit shouldn't be something you get targeted ads for every day.
  - bookofjoe 3y ago
    Amazon sells brand name semaglutide drug: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39702713 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39702713
  - stavros 3y ago
    I work at Numan.com, where we sell these exact things. I can't speak to the ad targeting (testosterone deficiency is a fairly rare condition you don't just scattergun), but selling Wegovy or Viagra online can be perfectly legal and medically valid. It depends on how each pharmacy examines your health, I can definitely imagine that some of them just send you some Viagra without asking too many questions, but with us, Hims, etc you go through a rigorous (and sometimes fairly lengthy, as with testosterone) clinical process to determine your eligibility and risks.
    - cj 3y ago
      Absolutely. I wasn’t suggesting that any of it is illegal. But it is concerning that ad targeting is potentially being used to make people think they need to be on medications that normally they might not seek out. E.g. I’m not overweight by any means, but I’m also not 5% body fat. Could wegovy help me get ripped abs? According to these ads, yes! I have actually considered trying it just for the hell of it (and out of curiosity for how it works). But it’s definitely not medically necessary (or recommended) for someone like me, but these companies will advertise and prescribe it to me anyway. Honestly I don’t think open access to these drugs is necessarily a terrible thing, but the advertising aspect I disagree with. I’m fine with anyone using Adderall for example if they seek it out on their own, but it makes me uneasy to think people are getting prescriptions because of the ads rather than because they were seeking it out on their own.

Lots of people that match your demographic must be depressed with ED! A bit different though, as those are legal. OP article is about illegal / Schedule I sales.

Pokerface777 3y ago
> A bit different though, as those are legal. I don't think it's legal to sell prescription drugs without a prescription...
- tazu 3y ago
  I'm sure those ads are for pill-mills (similar to chat-based "therapy" [1]) where you chat with a licensed MD (probably receiving kickbacks) for 5 minutes and get a prescription for those substances. [1]: https://www.betterhelp.com/ https://www.betterhelp.com/
  - bookofjoe 3y ago
    Yes. See: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39702713 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39702713
    - Pokerface777 3y ago
      I thought they were somewhat a thing of the past... I guess profits always wins.
- seanmcdirmid 3y ago
  I’m guessing we are just discussing the states right? It’s OTC in a few other countries.
  - Pokerface777 3y ago
    right across the border in Mexico there's a pharmacy literally at every corner near San Diego, and no prescriptions are needed, you are correct.... The one at stopped at the lady let me know that she was watching the show Breaking Bad on the TV behind me... she was old and asked the other lady to get out of the store before we started doing business... she would not sell me Fentanyl though. She would only sell oxys, percs, and other stuff. I didn't buy anything though.
    - chasd00 3y ago
      You’re not getting what you think you’re getting at those pharmacies though. They’re just selling labels of what Americans will buy and filling the vials with whatever they can find. The reason even pretending to sell fentanyl is off limits is because that puts them in competition with real drug dealers (even if the fentanyl is fake) which is incompatible with life.
- stavros 3y ago
  Hims will take you through a consultation and write you a prescription, it's very well regulated, AFAIK. We (Numan.com, a provider in the same category) certainly are, often, by multiple regulatory bodies.
helsinkiandrew 3y ago
>OP article is about illegal / Schedule I sales. Article is about illegal sale of legal prescription drugs - Adderal and opioid painkillers etc.

happytiger 3y ago

Like together as one pill? Weird.

cj 3y ago
I get the same ads. Viagra is from sites like hims.com. Ketamine is from sites like mindbloom.com. I commonly see similar ads for Testosterone, antidepressants, and Adderal is another common one. I also get targeted with semaglutide drugs (e.g. Ozempic, Wegovy) except the ads aren't brand name. They use compound pharmacies I think to avoid using specific brands and avoid FDA approval. I'm kind of surprised it's possible to get these drugs without getting brand name given patents, etc, but I don't know the whole history of GLP drugs or whether the compound pharmacy is a loophole of some kind. Most of the ads I see seem legitimate and aren't obviously illegal. But maybe getting stuff like Testosterone from an online virtual doc visit shouldn't be something you get targeted ads for every day.
- bookofjoe 3y ago
  Amazon sells brand name semaglutide drug: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39702713 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39702713
- stavros 3y ago
  I work at Numan.com, where we sell these exact things. I can't speak to the ad targeting (testosterone deficiency is a fairly rare condition you don't just scattergun), but selling Wegovy or Viagra online can be perfectly legal and medically valid. It depends on how each pharmacy examines your health, I can definitely imagine that some of them just send you some Viagra without asking too many questions, but with us, Hims, etc you go through a rigorous (and sometimes fairly lengthy, as with testosterone) clinical process to determine your eligibility and risks.
  - cj 3y ago
    Absolutely. I wasn’t suggesting that any of it is illegal. But it is concerning that ad targeting is potentially being used to make people think they need to be on medications that normally they might not seek out. E.g. I’m not overweight by any means, but I’m also not 5% body fat. Could wegovy help me get ripped abs? According to these ads, yes! I have actually considered trying it just for the hell of it (and out of curiosity for how it works). But it’s definitely not medically necessary (or recommended) for someone like me, but these companies will advertise and prescribe it to me anyway. Honestly I don’t think open access to these drugs is necessarily a terrible thing, but the advertising aspect I disagree with. I’m fine with anyone using Adderall for example if they seek it out on their own, but it makes me uneasy to think people are getting prescriptions because of the ads rather than because they were seeking it out on their own.