Screenshot from peacefulmeds.com

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a warning letter dated May 5 to peacefulmeds.com alleging that the business deals in misbranded and unapproved drugs.

At the top of a website called Peaceful Meds, images of injectable forms of ketamine, Demerol and GHB play in a slide show. A shopper may browse offerings in a variety of categories, labeled benzos, dissociatives, psychedelics, stimulants, opioids and more.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a warning letter dated May 5 to the website, alleging it is dealing in unapproved and misbranded drugs and offering prescription drugs for sale without a prescription.

Not mentioned in the letter is a dimension of the website relevant to veterinarians and pet owners: the offering of at least two drugs, Euthasol and Nembutal, containing pentobarbital. Pentobarbital is a barbiturate commonly used in euthanasia, among other uses. The site advertises Euthasol for use in animals and provides a testimonial on Nembutal from a purported pet owner:

"I was looking for a reliable source for Nembutal for my beloved pet," says the statement attributed to John D. "Peaceful Meds provided excellent service and support during a difficult time."

Pentobarbital is a federally controlled substance, meaning that it cannot be administered or prescribed by someone without a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) registration. Euthasol, specifically, is a Schedule III substance. Federal law mandates that it may be used only "by or on the order of a licensed veterinarian."

The Euthasol listing states that "a prescription from a licensed veterinarian is necessary to purchase it legally." However, when the VIN News Service initiated an order, the process did not appear to trigger a request for a prescription. VIN News did not complete the order because of questions about the legality of the transaction. Further, buyers are not given the option to pay with a credit card, which would provide consumer protections. Their choices are Cash App, cryptocurrency, Western Union and Zelle.

There are very few instances in which it would be appropriate for a veterinarian to script out euthanasia solution to a pet owner, according to Dr. Lauren Forsythe, a pharmacist on the faculty of the University of Findlay in Ohio. Forsythe also is a clinical pharmacology consultant for the Veterinary Information Network, an online community for the profession and parent of the VIN News Service. While Forsythe allowed for a possible rare scenario that a veterinarian might prescribe a euthanasia drug, if they did so regularly, she said, that would be a red flag.

Buyer beware

The market for online pharmacies is projected to grow by 14% annually, according to a 2024 article in the Journal of Health, Population and Nutrition. Pet owners often buy veterinary prescriptions online, whether from human pharmacies or pet-specific ones. Like physical pharmacies, virtual pharmacies are subject to pharmacy laws in every state they serve.

Buying drugs from other than legitimate vendors can have catastrophic results if the items advertised are not what they purport to be.

"Nobody knows what they're getting if they're ordering something on the internet from the dark net," said Jack Teitelman, a DEA compliance consultant with Titan Group. Teitelman is a retired DEA supervisory special agent with experience fighting illegal trafficking of controlled substances.

Questionable products might surface on reputable sites, too. Recent reports of fake Frontline pet flea control sold on eBay underscore the risks of not using a verifiable source for drugs and therapeutics. A cat in the United Kingdom was poisoned by counterfeit product.

As for peacefulmeds.com, VIN News was unable to reach the person or people behind the site. The URL is registered to a Calson James, but the address listed in James' contact is incomplete. The phone number listed for him rings at a car wash in El Paso, Texas.

A Google search of the name "Calson James" led only to a job posting for a company called Greenland Solutions. The website for Greenland Solutions no longer exists, but records preserved by the Internet Archive suggest that the website sold Nembutal.

Peaceful Meds' website data path traces to the internet network Cloudflare, indicating that the website could be operating from anywhere in the world.

Teitelman predicted that Peaceful Meds will be shut down or blocked in the U.S. in short order — an action he said is not hard for the DEA to carry out.

However, holding someone accountable in such a case is trickier, he said. More likely, he added, if the DEA decided to pursue anyone, it would be those attempting to purchase items from the website.

As for the FDA, warning letters from the agency are fairly common. Generally, they give the recipient a short period to respond with a plan for becoming compliant. In this case, the letter gave 15 days for the website operator to respond to the FDA describing how they corrected the violations or explaining why they couldn't meet the deadline and when they would make corrections.

Where the case stands is not public knowledge. An agency spokesperson said, "The FDA does not discuss possible or ongoing investigations."

As of Aug. 4, the website remains active.