The Government Needs To Stay Out Of My Mail
Haven't heard of the STOP Act? (Synthetics Trafficking and Overdose Prevention Act of 2017.)

Here, from The Hill's Jessie Hellmann and Jordan Fabian:

The bill would require the Postal Service to obtain electronic data on international mail shipments that can be used to target suspicious packages for inspection.

Shipments through private carriers are already required to submit this data, but lawmakers say the protections need to be extended to the U.S. Postal Service to close a loophole that is allowing synthetic opioids like fentanyl to enter the country.

A congressional report released in January found that those selling fentanyl online in China prefer to use the U.S. Postal Service rather than private shippers, because the sellers think there's less of a risk that U.S. Customs and Border Protection will seize the package.

I suspect you're right. And elsewhere overseas. I order a really benign anti-histamine that used to be FDA approved. FDA removed it from sale bc they didn't think the studies on it were very good. Well, it's used worldwide & it keeps me from being so carsick I can't get around.

— Amy Alkon (@amyalkon) August 21, 2018

I am so, so relieved I just ordered 120 more pills. They just came -- with the customs form on them saying the item was a "bracelet."

Yeah -- an anti-motion-sickness bracelet in pill form.

Luckily, it got through.

How crazy that my government tries to stop me from my choice to take a drug -- betahistine -- that improves my quality of life, allowing me to get around Los Angeles by car without throwing up.

It is now available in the U.S. -- through often-shitty compounding pharmacies -- but it's almost four times more expensive than what I pay for branded, pharma pills from overseas.

Also, in order to get it prescribed for me, I'd have to do horrible motion tests and pay nearly 1,000 for an MRI. There's no reason for me to do these things -- it's just the standard that they require at my healthcare provider in order to give you a prescription.

Um, no. Helloo, Thailand and Romania...!

Ice9 continues:

About those prices in India, from a link via Ice9, Ketaki Gokhale reports for Bloomberg that the Hep C "miracle cure" that sells in the U.S. for $1,000 sells in India for $4. So, in the U.S., that's $84K for a 12-week regimen of the pill. You can see how somebody would much rather pay...4 times 84 = $336!