Poor Man
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A Digest of Urban Survival Resources
"A man too busy to take care of his health is like a mechanic too busy to take care of his tools." Spanish Proverb
In January the
Wall
Street Journal noted that government bureau-twits have finally realized
their overreach has had deadly consequences:
Pharmaceutical companies moved out of
antibiotic development en masse in the past 15 years, citing high research
costs, poor returns and onerous regulations.
Consequently, the pipeline for new antibiotics in the US dried up.
Establishing Your Personal
Prescription Drug Back-Up Supply
The
last place you want to be dependent on when disaster strikes – whether it’s a
natural disaster or a social breakdown – is your local pharmacy.
Pharmacies
are magnets for thugs and looters. If you have to make a trek to your local
pharmacy when riots have broken out, during a medical crisis, or after a major
storm, you’re putting yourself in harm’s way.
During
the summer 2011 London riots, pharmacies were among the top targets for
rioters.
The
same was true during the L.A. riots of the ’90s and in New Orleans during the
aftermath of hurricane Katrina.
The
threat of a social breakdown aside, the actual drug supply at your pharmacy is
in constant danger. Between an ever-increasing number of drug shortages and the
alarming rise of major prescription drug heists — where criminals hit
warehouses, shipping containers, even semi trucks carrying drugs — pharmacies
struggle to keep a full inventory.
Suffice
it to say that even if you and I have secured your financial assets and put
away ample food reserves — but not taken effective steps to shore up your
medical security — you are a sitting duck for pandemic disease, medical
rationing, social chaos, Rx supply disruptions and more.
If
anything big happens and you don’t have a supply on hand of the prescriptions
you rely on, you’re in trouble.
From
a medical standpoint, disease prevention and healthy living can eliminate the
need for dependence on medications. Easier said than done. Millions need
reliable access to prescription drugs to maintain their health.
This
report will show you how to stockpile your prescriptions safely and legally.
Compared to prescriptions, setting up a reserve of food, water and fuel is a
cakewalk. Securing guns and ammunition is a breeze.
No
other critical component for survival is as difficult to navigate as acquiring
and storing prescription drugs without breaking the law.
That’s
what this report is all about. I want to help you get this done legally. I’ve
worked with my research team to exhaustively explore all your options so that
you can create a reserve of prescription medicine without compromising your
health and without attracting the attention of regulators and law enforcement.
What Your Doctor Never Tells You
How to Legally Stockpile Your Prescription
Drugs In Spite of Burdensome Rules that Say You Can’t
If
you or a loved one takes a prescription of any kind, you need to review what
I’m about to tell you very carefully. You may at times have to “read between
the lines,” as we step right up to the boundary of what today’s
freedom-stealing legal system permits you to do with your own body. I urge you
to comply with all laws, but you can never let anything stand in the way of
protecting your health.
Reliable
access to a pharmacy is essential for maintaining your health. The thought of
losing access to your prescription drugs is a frightening one, but frankly,
it’s one of the critical scenarios each of us must plan for. I myself take a
prescription drug that I’d just as soon skip in order to save money and avoid
any potential side effects, but my doctor has told me that this drug is
important for protecting my long-term health, so I’m sticking with the program.
So
why not resolve to take care of this life-critical matter today? I can offer
several possible solutions, and am only too pleased to share them with my
valued readers.
The Bare Minimum Prescription
Reserve
You Should Always Have on Hand
First,
let me recommend that you take steps to obtain a 90- to 180-day stockpile of
your essential medications at a bare minimum. A supply this size should be
enough to get you through any supply disruption whether it’s due to a shortage
or because it’s not safe to go to your local pharmacy.
When
it comes to building this stockpile, you have several options I’m going to
describe that are completely, one hundred percent legal. I’m also going to tell
you about various options you’ll hear other people recommend and clearly
explain the risks you take when you put your toes over that line.
When
it comes to maintaining optimum health, your absolute best option is to keep
taking the drugs your doctor prescribes as long as you possibly can. That means
planning ahead for an extended supply. I trust you understand the reasons to
put away a back-up food reserve; the reasons for doing the same with your
prescriptions are just as compelling, if not more so.
It’s
simply too risky to depend on the wholesale pharmaceutical supply chain, access
to retail outlets (whether stand-alone pharmacies or those located inside mega
retail centers such as Target or Wal-Mart), and the ability to travel safely to
them and home again.
Even
grand theft larceny can keep vital drugs from reaching you! Organized crime has
evolved for the 21st century. Large-scale, carefully planned heists of drugs in
transit are now so common that drug makers have created what they call a
‘Pharmaceutical Cargo Security Consortium’ to try to keep a watchful eye on
drug shipments and the criminals who would intercept them.
The
PCSC even has an acronym for the theft of a full truckload of prescription
drugs; they call it an FTL. I’m not making this up! One such FTL theft occurred
in October 2011 in Pennsylvania, when a well-prepared criminal hopped into the
cab of an 18-wheeler and simply drove off with 14 pallets of oxycodone (a
high-demand street drug), six pallets of the anxiety drug alprazolam, and nine
pallets of epilepsy meds.
These
ultra-valuable health products were hijacked as the lackadaisical trucker left
the engine idling to run inside a truck stop to purchase – get this – a pack of
cigarettes. Despite the crime-busting efforts of the PCSC, millions of doses of
meds intended for patients with legitimate health needs simply vanish in this
fashion into the black market. They’re almost impossible to trace once stolen,
and such thefts can leave pharmacies — and their customers — high and dry.
Sadly,
the medical bureaucracy in this country is set up to make it difficult for you
to stockpile your prescriptions. The powers-that-be don’t think you can be
trusted with an extended supply of the drugs you need to stay alive and well.
They’ve taken a vital freedom away from you — the right to control your own
healthcare. So let’s look at some possible “work-arounds” for this vexing issue
of how to stock up on pharmaceuticals. Please follow along closely.
Your Top Strategy – A Doctor You
Can Trust
As
long as you aren’t seeking an extended supply of narcotics, addictive pain
medications, or other controlled substances, most doctors will be sympathetic
to your desire to keep an extended supply of prescription drugs on hand.
In
fact, a 90-supply of almost any medication meant to control a chronic condition
or disease like diabetes, heart disease, or high blood pressure is becoming
standard issue. Asking your doctor to double that is not so beyond the pale
that he’ll think you’re suggesting something dubious.
Pharmacies
such as Walmart, Target, even supermarket chains have large lists, available on
the Internet, of medicines that can be purchased in 90 day supplies at a very
low price. You could easily get a 180 day supply as long as you can convince a
prescriber to give you two 90- day supply prescriptions and visit two separate
and different pharmacies.
Your
best approach is an honest one. Have a conversation with your doctor about your
concerns over shortages and other types of disruptions from the social to the
financial, and ask him to write you two 90-day prescriptions that you can fill
immediately plus one 30-day prescription that you’ll use as your normal course.
Then,
when you finish your 30-day prescription, you’ll begin using your stockpile for
your daily medication, but you’ll also get your next 30-day prescription and
put it at the back of your rotation. By doing this, you will always have a
six-month supply on hand, your medication never loses its potency, and you’re
insulated against any and all disruptions, including when you forget to call in
for your next prescription.
Ask
lots of questions about properly storing the drugs. If your doctor is
interested, explain your plan for rotating through the drugs so they don’t
expire and lose their potency.
The
one issue you will run into with this strategy is that your insurance plan, if
it covers prescriptions, will only cover one 90-day supply. The rest you’ll
have to pay out of pocket until 90 days has passed. Then, your insurance will
kick in to cover each new 30-day supply that you fill.
It
may be a costly purchase, but it’s a one-time investment that offers so much
peace of mind.
This
strategy is 100 percent safe and legal as long as you aren’t seeking narcotics.
If you’re after narcotic pain medication like oxycodone, you’ll set off alarms
with your doctor and possibly within the regulatory system. That could bring a
very unpleasant knock on your door from law enforcement officials. If you
depend on prescription pain medications, I’ll make some suggestions at the end
of this report. For now, know that the strategy I’ve just described is safe and
legal for most kinds of prescription medications.
The Slow Build Up Strategy
If
you don’t think your doctor will support your decision to build a reserve of
the life-saving medications you depend on, you have another perfectly legal
option.
An even easier way to stockpile your medication is to skip a dose once a week and put that dose away for a rainy day. Now, I must warn you that this strategy could have health consequences, so I am in no way recommending it; it’ s a decision only you can make.
An even easier way to stockpile your medication is to skip a dose once a week and put that dose away for a rainy day. Now, I must warn you that this strategy could have health consequences, so I am in no way recommending it; it’ s a decision only you can make.
I
do not advise you to take fewer doses than your doctor prescribes, especially
if you have any type of critical condition that relies on precise dosages of
your medication. You would be wise to discuss this strategy with your doctor
before using it.
In
my own case, however, I’ve made the decision that I’d rather skip one dose a
week than face an extended period with no medicine at all. This easy technique
allows me to amass a seven-week supply in the course of a year, and without
spending extra money or running afoul of picky government rules. (If you do use
this strategy to stockpile your drugs, be sure to rotate your inventory to keep
them from hitting their expiration dates.)
Some
medicines are prescribed as PRN (pro re nata),
Latin for ‘as the circumstance arises.’ There could be potential for creating a
stockpile by filling these take-as-needed prescriptions monthly even if you
have a supply left. Make sure to rotate these medicines so as to not lose
potency.
Plan a Trip – Enlist the Services
of a Travel Clinic
One
of the most common reasons that people seek extended prescriptions from their
doctor is because they plan to take an extended trip overseas. So, one approach
is to plan a trip. Then you can visit your doctor and let her know about your
plans and request a long-term prescription to cover your needs during your
trip.
This
strategy will allow you to create a stockpile of your prescriptions while under
the care of a doctor, making it another legal way to build your prescription
stockpile.
Now
understand that in no way am I advising you to obtain meds under false
pretenses. I suggest you actually plan what you’ll do in the event you have to
evacuate your home for three to six months or more. For example, you might plan
to spend an extended period in Canada, a nation that’s easy to get to from
anywhere in the U.S., with vast fresh water resources, extensive agricultural
crops, a reasonable exchange rate, relative safety from foreign or terror
attack, and where most people speak English and are friendly toward Americans.
It’s
also standard practice to request a copy of your prescription to take with you
on your trip should any of your medications become lost, stolen, or damaged, so
that you can work with an overseas doctor to replace your medications.
If
you follow this practice, you’ll have a prescription to fill for your extended
trip — whenever that may be — and a prescription to fill for your everyday
needs.
You
may also consider consulting with a travel clinic as you plan your trip. A
travel clinic has doctors who help travelers plan for the medications and
vaccinations they’ll need to ensure a safe trip. Such a clinic may be able to
help you get an advance on your prescription medicines to help you prepare for
your trip.
Under
this strategy you will be doubling up on your prescriptions. Plan to pay cash
for anything outside of a normal 30 to 90 day refill. And, plan to fill your
different prescriptions at two separate pharmacies. You are filling
prescriptions that you came by honestly — since you should use this strategy
only if you are really planning an extended trip at some point in the future —
but you could be flagged for doctor shopping. Obviously, you’re just doing this
once to establish a safeguard supply of the prescriptions you rely on, so that
when you do travel you’ll be ready. If you make double-filling prescriptions a
habit, though, you’ll end up in the DEA’s system as a possible drug dealer. Not
good.
Again,
bear in mind that in no way I am advising you to obtain drugs unlawfully. It is
not your intent to take a double dose, give or sell your drugs to someone else,
or start a meth lab. Rather it is your intent to do exactly as you say — to
take one prescription now for your condition, and the other during your
‘planned trip.’ It’s all above board!
Speaking of Doctors Overseas
If
you have any plans to travel overseas in the next few months, they may present
you with the perfect legal opportunity to get a 90-day supply of your
prescriptions.
The
most hassle-free route may be to travel to another country with more relaxed
prescription laws, visit a doctor to discuss your health conditions, get a real
prescription, and then get it filled.
When
you bring your medications back to the States with you make sure you keep the
medications in their original packaging. Keep the prescription (or a copy) with
the medications so customs officials can see that a doctor has legitimately
prescribed what you’re carrying.
Under
the letter of the law, you’re not supposed to bring prescription drugs across
the border into the U.S. However, the FDA instructs border agents to allow most
individuals to bring a three-month supply of personal medication into the
country providing the following criteria are met:
- The drug is intended to treat a serious condition.
- The individual bringing it into the country won’t sell
the drug commercially.
- The product doesn’t create an unreasonable risk.
- And, that you’re willing to sign papers saying the drug
is for your personal use.
You
may also be asked to provide contact information for your U.S.-based doctor or
evidence that the medication was prescribed as part of a treatment plan begun
in a foreign country. In other words, customs agents will let you bring in a
three-month supply of most types of medication with little to no hassle at all.
Just don’t try to bring in narcotics. That will land you in hot water and a
pair of handcuffs.
To
be double safe, make sure you’re getting medicines that your doctor back home
already prescribes to you. That way, you can be certain the medicines you carry
are legal to have in the United States.
What About Canada?
In
2011, the Senate struck down a bill that would have made it legal for U.S.
citizens to purchase drugs from licensed Canadian pharmacies. However, while it
is not technically legal to purchase drugs from Canada, the FDA and other law
enforcement agencies do not prosecute individuals buying small quantities of
drugs from across the border.
If
you make the choice to take advantage of the government’s current stance, you
should plan to deal only with pharmacies that you have verified are legitimate
and certified through the Canadian International Pharmacy Association (CIPA).
These
pharmacies will need a copy of your prescription before they can fill any
orders for you. Using a Canadian pharmacy is a smart strategy to use when
you’re working with your doctor and your insurance company won’t cover your
extended prescription. You can expect to spend significantly less out of pocket
when purchasing from a Canadian pharmacy than when buying from a U.S. pharmacy.
A
number of shady organizations have capitalized on the popularity and
profitability of Canadian pharmacies. Make sure you verify the pharmacy you
choose through CIPA. Otherwise you could spend good money on counterfeit drugs.
At a minimum, you’d waste your money. At the worst, the fake drugs these
charlatans send out could cause you grave harm.
Online Pharmacies – Good Idea or
Legal Nightmare?
If
you’ve done some research on storing a reserve of your prescription
medications, then I have no doubt you’ve come across multiple sites
recommending online pharmacies. Many online, international pharmacies will send
you prescription medications without a prescription. Some are legitimate
pharmacies overseas and are careful not to deal in narcotics. Others run shady
operations that you should avoid.
In
any case, purchasing prescription drugs from international pharmacies without a
prescription is illegal. But, here again, the border officials use
discretionary enforcement and won’t often waylay packages from these companies
as long as the drugs inside are purchased in three-month supplies and are
obviously for personal use.
Still,
this is a risky strategy because, make no mistake, you will be breaking the law
if you choose to employ it. I do not advise you to even consider it unless you
have exhausted all other possibilities. Even then, you have to weigh the
potential legal consequences against the health consequences of not having the
drug.
Alternative to Cholesterol Drugs
Other
natural remedies such as red yeast rice have been proven to lower cholesterol.
Many studies have shown good results.
Alternatives to Pain Pills
You
may have noticed that from this report that you have to treat controlled
substances like pain pills differently that you do other types of
prescriptions.
That’s
because in the face of higher abuse rates and a climbing number of prescription
drug addicts, federal officials are cracking down hard on pain pills and other
controlled prescription medications.
You
simply cannot safely stock up on these types of drugs. The risks are too high
that you’ll be flagged as a potential drug dealer, have your privacy violated,
and possibly end up on the wrong side of some jail cell bars.
That
being said, if you rely on pain medication to function, you do have options
from the natural healthcare sector. I suggest you look into these two
supplements…
Big Relief From a Traditional
Spice
Most
commonly known for the role it plays in Indian cuisine, turmeric is a
powerhouse spice with a number of health benefits. It’s recently been pushed
into the spotlight for its potential to provide a long-term solution to chronic
pain.
Turmeric
has an anti-inflammatory affect in the body that can help reduce or even
eliminate pain. Preliminary research shows that turmeric interrupts the process
that causes swelling and pain.4 Turmeric is safe and can yield dramatic
results. It’s worth a try.
Another
good natural substance that can promote pain relief is MSM. MSM is short
for Methylsulfonyl-methane. This sulfur compound can help relieve pain and
improve joint function in people who have osteoarthritis. Researchers at the
University of California in San Diego did a three-month trial in which patients
took MSM supplements. After three months, the average patient enjoyed a 25
percent reduction in pain and a 30 percent improvement in function.
Stocking
an extended supply of the prescription drugs you need without running afoul of
the law or ending up with some cut-rate substance that could do you more harm
than good is probably the toughest challenge you’ll face as a prepper.
It’s
also one of the most important. Fortunately, you do have a few options. I suggest
you begin with a frank conversation with your doctor. Often that’s all it takes
to get the ball rolling.
If
that doesn’t work, you may need to get a little creative. As long as you’re
careful to follow regulations, you should be able to stock up on your
medications without any legal trouble or privacy issues.
SIDEBAR:
Obamacare, as we predicted last year, will have many seeing the medical
files being used against them when all medical providers switch over to
electronic data files on the patients…you and your children will be
asked about gun ownership, if you smoke or use illegal drugs. Despite so-called privacy rules (HIPPA)
chances are your life and even auto insurers will have access to this
data. The Medical Information Bureau
maintains one or more files on you. Get
your file (free) online at: www.mib.com or call: 866-692-6900.
You may want to check the records kept about you by your
local doctor and hospital in order to avoid inaccuracies.
Natural
Healing Wisdom & Know-How
Find more
homemade recipes and tips at:
Yours in freedom,
Bruce ‘the Poor Man’
Got a News Tip or Resource to Share With the Poor Man?
Send it to: PoorManSurvivor@Gmail.com
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