Contact 6: Buying prescription drugs from outside the U.S.



MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- Prescription drug costs are out of control, but FOX6's Contact 6 has a warning about buying drugs outside of the United States.

Nina Ossana's sister was a police officer who was taking prescription drugs she obtained online and over the phone. Ossana's sister took her own life, and Ossana was determined to find out why.

"In the weeks after she died, I got 100,000 doses of these drugs. There is no reason for anyone to have that many doses of any drugs. I had her cell phone and she would get 33 calls a day. The vendors would call and say I just sent your prescriptions. I just sent your drugs to you. Can I send you more?" Ossana said.

Ossana discovered her sister was buying drugs from other countries.

"When you aren`t buying it from a reputable source, I wondered, was there something else in the drugs? Was it really was it was supposed to be? Were there impurities? Did it cause her to commit suicide?" Ossana said.

Postal inspectors say buying drugs outside the U.S. is dangerous. Telemarketers lure customers with cheaper prices and convenience. The elderly, poor or those with an addiction are often easy prey.

"Do not trust your health to these overseas vendors. We don`t know the exactly what is in the pills, the potency, how they will interact with other drugs you`re currently taking," U.S. Postal Inspector Quiana Valentine said.

Postal inspectors and agents from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration are working together to trace the origin of these packages Ossana's sister received.

"What I want is for no other family and friend to have to go through what I went through with my sister," Ossana said.