2 ms·

It is wild that it took until 2026 for this to happen. In the late 1990s, when my friends wanted mushrooms or 5MEO-DMT, they'd order from "Poisonous Non-Consum

by tptacek 9mo ago

It is wild that it took until 2026 for this to happen. In the late 1990s, when my friends wanted mushrooms or 5MEO-DMT, they'd order from "Poisonous Non-Consumables" catalogs. Today, people are literally doing that (same words, even!), but for the next iteration of GLP1 drugs not yet on the wider market. Compounding pharmacies are selling "research chemicals", like in Bitcoin Mining Profit Calculator: Gaiden.

cj 9mo ago
People are getting retatrutide from random websites (not what’s being shut down here) not from compounding pharmacies.
- tptacek 9mo ago
  Totally fair point. I'm just surprised how poorly regulated this stuff is.
  - loeg 9mo ago
    The regulation is pretty clear? We just don't choose to blackhole shady foreign (in this case, Chinese) companies from the American internet as a matter of policy. And cannot effectively screen all imports.
  - rootusrootus 9mo ago
    Hard to regulate. A lot of the retatrutide sold today is marketed on Discord & Telegram groups and paid for with crypto. It is infeasible for customs to open every last package entering the US, so this avenue will continue to work. The only gov't that could realistically stop it (for a while at least) is the Chinese. And they do, occasionally, shut down a manufacturer for a while. Though not because they are shipping GLP1s to the states.
  - phil21 9mo ago
    It’s regulated quite tightly. But if you can’t shut down the illicit street drug market you aren’t going to be able to shut down the illicit make-your-life-better black market either. I think what’s happening now is about right. FDA approval process for the vast majority of people, and make those who want to play drug astronaut biohacker find it via underground methods. No reason to crack down super hard on such folks since the societal impact is likely net positive - unlike fentanyl or what have you. Perhaps there could be better enforcement for the folks being totally blatant about it as it risks going “mainstream” and hitting people who don’t have informed consent, but I imagine that’s coming as law enforcement catches up.
loeg 9mo ago
I think this is compounding pharmacies selling legit semaglutide (or tirzepatide?), but doing the packaging (dilution in water) themselves. No? I don't think Hims is selling RCs. They're violating Novo's (or Lilly's) patents. It is wild to me that compounding pharmacies continued to sell these in violation of patents even after the expiration of the FDA supply shortfall status last year -- but I suppose there's so much money in it they don't want to give it up. https://www.fda.gov/drugs/drug-safety-and-availability/fda-clarifies-policies-compounders-national-glp-1-supply-begins-stabilize https://www.fda.gov/drugs/drug-safety-and-availability/fda-c...
- cthalupa 9mo ago
  Compounding pharmacies are getting the raw API from China. Some of them are getting it from FDA registered facilities in China. Some are not. It should be more or less the same thing as the legit stuff, but it is made with a different process, with different excipients, etc. For those going the more legit route, FDA registered still does not mean FDA inspected or that the FDA has signed off on them as being a reputable manufacturer. There has also been cases of compounding pharmacies offering reta and other unapproved peptides, resulting in the FDA sending lots of angry letters to state pharmacy certification boards.
  - loeg 9mo ago
    > There has also been cases of compounding pharmacies offering reta and other unapproved peptides Can you elaborate more on this? I hadn't heard about it.
    - cthalupa 9mo ago
      https://lengealaw.com/fda-warns-companies-over-compounded-retatrutide-what-healthcare-providers-should-know/ https://lengealaw.com/fda-warns-companies-over-compounded-re...
      - loeg 9mo ago
        Huh. It's hard to tell how legit any of these "compounding pharmacies" are, but some example letters: https://www.fda.gov/inspections-compliance-enforcement-and-criminal-investigations/warning-letters/medclub-dr-jenn-09092025 https://www.fda.gov/inspections-compliance-enforcement-and-c... https://www.fda.gov/inspections-compliance-enforcement-and-criminal-investigations/warning-letters/asn-labs-09092025 https://www.fda.gov/inspections-compliance-enforcement-and-c... (German biz): https://www.fda.gov/inspections-compliance-enforcement-and-criminal-investigations/warning-letters/glp-1-solution-09092025 https://www.fda.gov/inspections-compliance-enforcement-and-c...
rootusrootus 9mo ago
Compounding pharmacies are selling compound, not "for research only" peptides. That's a different thing, even if they probably get the API (drug itself) from the same sources.
JCharante 9mo ago
and the end result of this action will be every neighborhood having a guy who orders the peptides from overseas and mixes it into a liquid with a net reduction in safety for millions

by tptacek 9mo ago

cj 9mo ago

People are getting retatrutide from random websites (not what’s being shut down here) not from compounding pharmacies.

tptacek 9mo ago
Totally fair point. I'm just surprised how poorly regulated this stuff is.
- loeg 9mo ago
  The regulation is pretty clear? We just don't choose to blackhole shady foreign (in this case, Chinese) companies from the American internet as a matter of policy. And cannot effectively screen all imports.
- rootusrootus 9mo ago
  Hard to regulate. A lot of the retatrutide sold today is marketed on Discord & Telegram groups and paid for with crypto. It is infeasible for customs to open every last package entering the US, so this avenue will continue to work. The only gov't that could realistically stop it (for a while at least) is the Chinese. And they do, occasionally, shut down a manufacturer for a while. Though not because they are shipping GLP1s to the states.
- phil21 9mo ago
  It’s regulated quite tightly. But if you can’t shut down the illicit street drug market you aren’t going to be able to shut down the illicit make-your-life-better black market either. I think what’s happening now is about right. FDA approval process for the vast majority of people, and make those who want to play drug astronaut biohacker find it via underground methods. No reason to crack down super hard on such folks since the societal impact is likely net positive - unlike fentanyl or what have you. Perhaps there could be better enforcement for the folks being totally blatant about it as it risks going “mainstream” and hitting people who don’t have informed consent, but I imagine that’s coming as law enforcement catches up.

loeg 9mo ago

I think this is compounding pharmacies selling legit semaglutide (or tirzepatide?), but doing the packaging (dilution in water) themselves. No? I don't think Hims is selling RCs. They're violating Novo's (or Lilly's) patents. It is wild to me that compounding pharmacies continued to sell these in violation of patents even after the expiration of the FDA supply shortfall status last year -- but I suppose there's so much money in it they don't want to give it up. https://www.fda.gov/drugs/drug-safety-and-availability/fda-clarifies-policies-compounders-national-glp-1-supply-begins-stabilize https://www.fda.gov/drugs/drug-safety-and-availability/fda-c...

cthalupa 9mo ago
Compounding pharmacies are getting the raw API from China. Some of them are getting it from FDA registered facilities in China. Some are not. It should be more or less the same thing as the legit stuff, but it is made with a different process, with different excipients, etc. For those going the more legit route, FDA registered still does not mean FDA inspected or that the FDA has signed off on them as being a reputable manufacturer. There has also been cases of compounding pharmacies offering reta and other unapproved peptides, resulting in the FDA sending lots of angry letters to state pharmacy certification boards.
- loeg 9mo ago
  > There has also been cases of compounding pharmacies offering reta and other unapproved peptides Can you elaborate more on this? I hadn't heard about it.
  - cthalupa 9mo ago
    https://lengealaw.com/fda-warns-companies-over-compounded-retatrutide-what-healthcare-providers-should-know/ https://lengealaw.com/fda-warns-companies-over-compounded-re...
    - loeg 9mo ago
      Huh. It's hard to tell how legit any of these "compounding pharmacies" are, but some example letters: https://www.fda.gov/inspections-compliance-enforcement-and-criminal-investigations/warning-letters/medclub-dr-jenn-09092025 https://www.fda.gov/inspections-compliance-enforcement-and-c... https://www.fda.gov/inspections-compliance-enforcement-and-criminal-investigations/warning-letters/asn-labs-09092025 https://www.fda.gov/inspections-compliance-enforcement-and-c... (German biz): https://www.fda.gov/inspections-compliance-enforcement-and-criminal-investigations/warning-letters/glp-1-solution-09092025 https://www.fda.gov/inspections-compliance-enforcement-and-c...

rootusrootus 9mo ago

Compounding pharmacies are selling compound, not "for research only" peptides. That's a different thing, even if they probably get the API (drug itself) from the same sources.

JCharante 9mo ago

and the end result of this action will be every neighborhood having a guy who orders the peptides from overseas and mixes it into a liquid with a net reduction in safety for millions