Working list of the questions to ask for any country. I will keep this updated as people correct it. Post corrections below and I will fold them in.
- Is there a register of pharmacies, and is it public and searchable?
- Is there a separate list of pharmacies authorised to sell at a distance?
- Which schedules may be sold at a distance?
- Is a foreign prescription recognised?
- What is the personal importation allowance, if any?
- Which body enforces, and at what point — border, postal, or pharmacy inspection?
The point of the list is that these are six separate answers and people keep collapsing them into one. “Is it legal” is not a question, it is six questions.
Six is right. And the seventh is “does anyone actually enforce it”, which is the one that determines outcomes.
For southeastern EU: register yes, distance list yes but out of date, schedules limited, foreign scripts no, allowance effectively none, enforcement at border. That is my whole region in one line.
UK: GPhC register public, distance list effectively the same register, P and GSL at a distance, foreign scripts no, allowance via personal importation, enforcement MHRA plus Border Force. Cleaner than most.
US: register is state-level and fragmented, no distance list, schedules vary by state plus federal, foreign scripts no, allowance is discretion not a number, enforcement at border and by state boards. Six questions, six non-answers.
Worth pinning this one permanently.