Importing Vitamins / Supplements | GTAMotorcycle.com

Importing Vitamins / Supplements

-Maverick-

-Maverick-

Well-known member
Since Health Canada has cut off Canadians to most discount supplement stores in the US, like Puritans Pride, I was thinking of getting a US post box address and doing a once a year border run. I take a lot of vitamins and supplements to stay young and healthy. To give you an idea of the savings, today I bought two items at a Canadian health food store, the price was $78. For $80 I got 28 bottles of supplements from Puritans Pride (buy 3 get 5 free - buy 5 get 7 free etc). Question is, does the US treat Vitamins / Supplements like drugs... could you land yourself in jail for smuggling drugs across the border? Seeing that some supplements contain a DIN number, and the craziness of the US, I'd hate to end up in this predicament over vitamins. Also, what's the penalty if you don't declare them. If you do, the border run really isn't worth it as you'll have to pay duty on the whole lot. Anyone have any advice on this scenario?

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Bigger question is .. what the hell are you taking that give you the perception that its retaining your "youth and health?"

More than likely you are pissing away most of it, along with your money.
 
I envision four bald Neo Nazi US border patrol cops with their knees on / in my head yelling "get on the ground, get on the ground..." Thanks for your thoughts, not worth it is right. At the same time F Canada for dissuading Canadians that take care of their own health and don't go to medical doctors. Imagine you're an old age pensioner... cutting off the US market is disastrous.

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FullMotoJacket said:
But you can import semen, provided you have the correct paperwork.
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I won`t go into the ways it can be transported into any Country. I might get banned. However, I am sure there are may funny thoughts, not including the different types of paperwork. He He.
 
you can bring in 5 of any size of one vitamin/herb anytime, therefore bring the biggest size duh

BB
 
MLadin said:
I envision four bald Neo Nazi US border patrol cops with their knees on / in my head yelling "get on the ground, get on the ground..." Thanks for your thoughts, not worth it is right. At the same time F Canada for dissuading Canadians that take care of their own health and don't go to medical doctors. Imagine you're an old age pensioner... cutting off the US market is disastrous.

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you do understand if your buying in the US and leaving the country, for Canada, the balding US border patrol guys are just going to smile and wave, your leaving America. The Canadian guys may have something to say if you have product on an importation ban list. They get especially curious if you had large quantities.
 
cycling said:
Lots of reading here. Not worth it. As "cankcall" ^^^^ says.

http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/dhp-mps/compli-conform/import-export/gui-0084_biu-uif-eng.php
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Useful link, and not all that hard to decipher.

According to my interpretation of this info http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/dhp-mps/compli-conform/import-export/gui-0084_biu-uif-eng.php#a6 it seems that for Schedule D drugs (listed here http://laws.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/F-27/page-11.html#h-25 ) and over the counter drugs, and potentially prescription drugs (Schedule F drugs) at the discretion of border security for the sake of maintaining your ongoing medical treatment, you can import them all with the following conditions:

Individuals are permitted to import a single course of treatment or a 90-day supply based on the directions for use, whichever is less. The drug must be for the individual’s own personal use or for the use of a person for whom they are responsible and with whom they are travelling.

The drug must be shipped/carried in one of the following:

  • Hospital or pharmacy dispensed packaging;
  • Original retail packaging; or
  • have the original label affixed to it which clearly indicates what the health product is and what it contains.

In your shoes, I'd do a test run with a few drugs that are of Schedule D and O.T.C. types, and at least one prescription drug if that's something you need. Declare it all and see how they respond. Unless you categorize a narcotic as a medical drug or something dumb like that, there should be zero risk of arrest. At worst they might confiscate some drugs, but at least then you'll know. Even if they let you through no problem, you can talk to the border agents about the whys and hows of their decision so you know what to expect next time if you want to import a trunk full of 90-day supply of your chosen drugs.
 
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Some good info here. I've run into it all already through the post... 90 days of Probiotics = 1 (one) 90 capsule bottle. Puritans Pride has had to open a separate section for Single items for Canadians. They sell in bulk. Buy 1 get one free. Buy 2 get 3 free. Buy 3 get 5 free. Buy 5 get 7 free. Etc. If according to the label a one day supply is one capsule, you're allowed to order one bottle according to Health Canada. You don't even get the free bottle Puritans Pride gives you at checkout as 90 capsules is seen as 90 days supply. I don't know who's behind this... Health Canada protecting Canadian Health Food Stores or Health Canada protecting big pharmacy? As a Naturopathic Doctor, I can tell you that taking probiotics daily is not only good for you, it will prolong your life and reduce your risks of colon cancer, not to mention you'll watch your gut disappear. Never in the history of the world has anyone OD'd on Probiotics, it's just not possible. Yet, "Health" Canada is restricting our rights to free trade claiming to what... protect us from protecting ourselves from disease? Melatonin has been in Walmart in the US since the 1980's yet Health Canada wouldn't allow it on Canadian Health Food Store shelves 'till the 2000's. Instead Canadians would have to take prescription sleeping pills. It's totally bent. Imagine you're an old age pensioner who likes to take care of his or her health and destiny. But you're on a pension budget. Now you, as I wrote in the OP get two items for $78. One item is 60 capsules of probiotics - $33. For 60 capsules!!! Puritans Pride is $7 for 200 capsules of the same bacteria strain count. If you order from Puritans Pride now you get thrown out at checkout as a sucker Canadian to the single items department. It's maddening that Canadians get hosed every single time.

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I'm guessing they restrict personal import amounts to avoid having commercial sellers masquerading as private users. That allows us some freedom to get the stuff we think we need, yet protects the Canadian food and drug system from the decisions of the FDA, which AFAIK have a worse track record than Health Canada when it comes to approving things safely. I'm glad we have a sovereign regulatory framework from the US when it comes to food and drugs.

Though as I read it, you and your GF could cross back in with 2x 90-day supplies of each compound, then go back and cross over again an hour later with another 2x 90-day supply. At that point it may arouse suspicion with border guards, probably around the same point where it becomes a commercially viable operation.

But even if you only import one 90-day supply at a time, maybe you can still order in bulk to get the discounts and just leave portions of the order in your US mailbox for your next trip?
 
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fastar1 said:
Though as I read it, you and your GF could cross back in with 2x 90-day supplies of each compound, then go back and cross over again an hour later with another 2x 90-day supply. At that point it may arouse suspicion with border guards, probably around the same point where it becomes a commercially viable operation.
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I'm not sure you may be interpreting that correctly, you cant cross an hour later and have another 90 day supply. Otherwise they wouldn't bother with a limit at all.

OP , your a Naturopathic Doctor and in your opening post you ask about the penalties for not declaring imported drugs (smuggling?) Oy Vey....
 
crankcall said:
I'm not sure you may be interpreting that correctly, you cant cross an hour later and have another 90 day supply. Otherwise they wouldn't bother with a limit at all.

OP , your a Naturopathic Doctor and in your opening post you ask about the penalties for not declaring imported drugs (smuggling?) Oy Vey....
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In the 1980's Canadian Health Food Stores as well as Naturopathic Doctors who stocked their own supplements had to sell Melatonin "under the counter" to patients. Health Food store owners would do border runs and buy it from Walmart in the US and charge Canadians four to five times the price. In essence making themselves drug mules. It's all bent. Just like motorcycle insurance is not affordable to many Ontarians (say goodbye to liter bikes altogether), they are telling us what and how much we can buy of supplements now. DHEA, which will keep most of you 40 something guys looking 40 into your 60's, 70's is very hard to get now and is the next supplement on the Canada ban list. Yet you can buy it at Walmart in the US. They [the Canadian Government] don't want you healthy. This is the reason most of our seniors are on so many pharmaceutical drugs. I had one patient, a former teacher on 35 prescription drugs! Her MD caused her colon to explode. She now wears a colostomy bag. Canada is becoming a communistic country that tells you what to do. If you cross the US border to get (and pass on to patients) affordable supplements, you could (and very likely would) be charged as a drug mule and jailed.

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While I agree with you that it's ridiculous at the price difference between the US and Canada, we also see a run of Americans coming to us for cheaper drugs of a different order. Wasn't there a big story of US citizens coming up to Alberta or other province to stock up on medication that they basically could get for a massive discount in comparison to the price in the US? Someone please correct me if I'm wrong, been a while since I read about it.

Also, if there is an issue at the border of YOU bringing/smuggling these into the country then how would that affect your practice / registration as a registered naturopath?

I agree with you on the ridiculousness....I don't believe it's worth the risk personally, especially if you can be charged, and can lose your license to practice over it.
 
Canada food and drug administration usually likes a LOT more testing before approving a drug or suppliment and often bans things before the US does. Its not a willy nilly process and for the most part based on science and testing not political lobbying and enormous research grants to get approvals as often happens in the US.
Sometimes they get it wrong. Thalydomide babies anyone? which is why we now see testing that can take years. And we see TV commercials on US channels advertising how to get in on class action suits against phrama company XYZ.

Its not Canada doesn't want you to be healthy, all drugs are plant based and some plants just aren't good for everybody. Taking the wrong medication or in combination can kill you, so drugs get regulated so you get to talk to a pharmacist or a doctor or both. Because when you take the wrong meds and end up in hospital it costs thousands per day.
 
MLadin said:
In the 1980's Canadian Health Food Stores as well as Naturopathic Doctors who stocked their own supplements had to sell Melatonin "under the counter" to patients. Health Food store owners would do border runs and buy it from Walmart in the US and charge Canadians four to five times the price. In essence making themselves drug mules. It's all bent. Just like motorcycle insurance is not affordable to many Ontarians (say goodbye to liter bikes altogether), they are telling us what and how much we can buy of supplements now. DHEA, which will keep most of you 40 something guys looking 40 into your 60's, 70's is very hard to get now and is the next supplement on the Canada ban list. Yet you can buy it at Walmart in the US. They [the Canadian Government] don't want you healthy. This is the reason most of our seniors are on so many pharmaceutical drugs. I had one patient, a former teacher on 35 prescription drugs! Her MD caused her colon to explode. She now wears a colostomy bag. Canada is becoming a communistic country that tells you what to do. If you cross the US border to get (and pass on to patients) affordable supplements, you could (and very likely would) be charged as a drug mule and jailed.

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It's clear you're actually interested in importing this stuff for commercial purposes rather than for personal use, and that's what has you ****** off. It's not a question of personal freedom but of commercial freedom.

It makes sense for you to consider moving to the US since you agree more closely with the way they decide things down there, but I'm sure if you ran a health supplement business in the US you'd still disagree with some of their rules of what merchandise you are or aren't allowed to sell. That disagreement is just a natural consequence of two informed opinions on a suitably complex subject. The two will never completely agree. I'm sure you have disagreement with others within your profession. That doesn't mean Canadian rules are "ridiculous", it's just two different philosophies of regulation that are being applied in two different countries.

If you want to know what's ridiculous, it's believing that "they [the Canadian Government] don't want you healthy". Yeah, OK Mr. Conspiracy Theorist. You have the freedom to be wrong about stuff like this, and it's nice to see you exercise that freedom on a regular basis in this forum.

The reality is that if we applied your more Libertarian opinion to all matters of public safety, that would shift the burden more on consumers to know what they're doing and less on government. There's advantages and disadvantages to doing that.

Imagine if that philosophy is applied to all foods and drugs, housing, vehicles, toys, tools, household products, services, everything. We'd each have to develop that same level of knowledge to ensuring our safety in all those areas of life that we deal with every day. It would be a huge burden to know everything about the safety of everything around us. For most of us, it would be impossible to ensure our own safety on all these matters. Modern life is just too complicated for that much in-depth knowledge on every given subject. Different governments relieve us from some of that burden to varying degrees, and while that opens the door for us to disagree with them at every turn, it also frees us from having to become experts in every field, so we can focus our efforts on whatever area of life we like to specialize in.

It just so happens that you have advanced knowledge of the complex subject of vitamins and supplements so you have your own opinion of what's safe and unsafe. Good for you, you have the personal freedom to exploit your knowledge to your own benefit by importing the stuff you think you need. The fact that you can't make that same decision for everybody who would happen to wander through your health store is just a consequence of living in a society that safeguards its citizens as best it can. Of course it will never be 'perfect' by anybody's standards.
 
fastar1 said:
It's clear you're actually interested in importing this stuff for commercial purposes rather than for personal use, and that's what has you ****** off. It's not a question of personal freedom but of commercial freedom.

It makes sense for you to consider moving to the US since you agree more closely with the way they decide things down there, but I'm sure if you ran a health supplement business in the US you'd still disagree with some of their rules of what merchandise you are or aren't allowed to sell. That disagreement is just a natural consequence of two informed opinions on a suitably complex subject. The two will never completely agree. I'm sure you have disagreement with others within your profession. That doesn't mean Canadian rules are "ridiculous", it's just two different philosophies of regulation that are being applied in two different countries.

If you want to know what's ridiculous, it's believing that "they [the Canadian Government] don't want you healthy". Yeah, OK Mr. Conspiracy Theorist. You have the freedom to be wrong about stuff like this, and it's nice to see you exercise that freedom on a regular basis in this forum.

The reality is that if we applied your more Libertarian opinion to all matters of public safety, that would shift the burden more on consumers to know what they're doing and less on government. There's advantages and disadvantages to doing that.

Imagine if that philosophy is applied to all foods and drugs, housing, vehicles, toys, tools, household products, services, everything. We'd each have to develop that same level of knowledge to ensuring our safety in all those areas of life that we deal with every day. It would be a huge burden to know everything about the safety of everything around us. For most of us, it would be impossible to ensure our own safety on all these matters. Modern life is just too complicated for that much in-depth knowledge on every given subject. Different governments relieve us from some of that burden to varying degrees, and while that opens the door for us to disagree with them at every turn, it also frees us from having to become experts in every field, so we can focus our efforts on whatever area of life we like to specialize in.

It just so happens that you have advanced knowledge of the complex subject of vitamins and supplements so you have your own opinion of what's safe and unsafe. Good for you, you have the personal freedom to exploit your knowledge to your own benefit by importing the stuff you think you need. The fact that you can't make that same decision for everybody who would happen to wander through your health store is just a consequence of living in a society that safeguards its citizens as best it can. Of course it will never be 'perfect' by anybody's standards.
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You let the Canadian Government dictate what you can put in your mouth and what motorcycle you can't ride because they say it's too dangerous. Feel free. A lot of Russian people came to Canada to escape this BS. One of the ironic things about my practise is the majority of my clients are RN's... from the medical establishment. And quite a few MD's.

I don't resell vitamins from Puritans Pride. To do so would be illegal. It's nice to have a place where I can send clients that can get a years worth of supplements for $100. But I can't anymore. Hence the OP.

Ontario doesn't treat its Naturopaths very well, nor its ND/MD's which is why some MD's in Ontario are opting out of or leaving OHIP altogether. A doctor is only as good as what's available in his toolbox.

/end

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MLadin said:
You let the Canadian Government dictate what you can put in your mouth and what motorcycle you can't ride because they say it's too dangerous. Feel free. A lot of Russian people came to Canada to escape this BS.
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Variations on these restrictions are in place for every single product in every single nation in the world, for a reason. They improve the functioning of society by adding a layer of protection from potentially harmful items.

It's easy to thump your chest and cry FREEEEDOOOOOMMMMMM!!!! pretending you are a better judge of everything's safety than anyone else, but it ignores the realities of what happens when that view is applied to the operation of a nation as a whole. As I said, reality is more nuanced than that.

By the way, the gov't isn't dictating what you or any of us can put in our mouths, in this case. The law seems to allow us to get whatever we want for ourselves. It seems to strike a pretty good balance between protecting the general public without unduly restricting our personal freedoms. Any of those doctors and nurses you mention could order what they want for personal use (except narcotics of course). All gov't is doing is protecting others from people like you who you might try to sell their medical miracle supplements, when they really don't know everything they think they know. Not that that could ever apply to you. Naaaah, you know it all.
 
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I get the feeling that fastar1 doesn't like MLadin very much. ☺

It would be nice if we could sign some sort of waiver or something saying that we are using the supplements for personal use, so to keep getting those discounts. But I would guess that given your profession, that they may be suspicious.
Maybe go with a few people to take advantage of the bulk prices?
And could you provide some links about DHEA?
And fastar1, you don't really believe that restrictions are put in place solely for our protection, do you? Big pharma has a lot of money, best to keep them happy. Sure we need stuff to be tested etc. But I'm sure they drag their @$$es when it comes to approval.

Sent from the Purple Zone
 
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