Thank you for posting this Scott.  While I myself am on the fence about melanotan II, I continue to take it.  Obviously using a drug that has not been evaluated by the FDA could be dangerous.  However, I think it's important to note here that the FDA has never said melanotan-1 or melanotan II is bad or will hurt you.  They are simply saying, "We have not investigated the effect and side effects and we therefore warn against using it."  The same goes for any non-FDA-evaluated drug.  
 

Thank you for this information.  I agree that it is important that potential new users understand the risks and side effects involved in using any of these peptides.  While I understand the FDA's point in the warnings, you also have to understand the FDA's goal is both about commerce (read money) and about health of consumers... and, most importantly, weighing the two issues together.
 
To put this in perspective, there are drugs that many of us use every day: alcohol, chocolate and caffeine.  Every food you eat, every medication you take, everything you put into your body has the risk of adverse side effects and negative (or positive) interactions with one another.  A prime example is alcoholic beverages.  Alcohol technically both a drug and a controlled substance.  Yet, many people are very casual about it.  Informed choices should be the goal of everything you eat and do.
 
That said, there is one point that should not be overlooked.  The peptide manufacturers are not under control/regulation of the FDA (or any other governing body) and, thus, quality cannot be guaranteed.  But, can it ever be guaranteed even with approved drugs?  Quality control, however, is the one thing that is most troubling about obtaining these peptides... Is the quality there?
 
On the other hand, we have the FDA who can't manage to keep people from getting sick because of Salmonella poisoning in Peanut Butter.  So, on the one hand you have the FDA issuing warnings about peptides and, on the other, you have them unable to manage food stuffs that should be safe for consumption.  Granted, the peanut processing plant didn't do the right things, apparently, but it is still part of the FDA's job to make sure these organizations continue to produce safe goods for consumption.  This is the perspective that one needs to understand when taking these warnings into consideration.
 
Ultimately, it's your body and it's your choice.  Read, understand and weigh all sides and arguments before you embark.

My thoughts?
 
 
All of the most popular and reliable suppliers are no longer shipping to the us. This leaves those in the market for melanotan with very few options. Not only that, but people are much more likely to use a supplier who may not be as well known and may supply product of good quality. I fear that this will lead to inexperienced users injecting themselves with what they think it melanotan when in fact it may not be, or may even be loaded with mannitol. All of this equates to bad PR for melanotan as a whole, and will slow or stop any possibility of it's approval and widespread use.
 
Perhaps I'm just being paranoid, but this scenario seems like a real possibility. I'm also pretty pissed about all of this. I've lurked this forum for the past year or so, and just recently decided to make the jump and start my loading phase. Two days ago I go to the USlabs website, which seemed to be the most reputable, only to find that I'm S.O.L.
 
not happy  

^^^^
 
Melanotan is not a controlled substance. It is not illegal.

The Lithuanian Valstybinė vaistų kontrolės tarnyba has issued a warning for melanotan II:
 
Warning - Lithuania - VVKT July 1, 2009: Dėl preparato Melanotan-2 (Appears to only be available in Lithuanian)
 
-Scott

Hundreds if not thousands of people have been using these peptides for approx 2-5 years now.  
Most have been using huge amounts (compared to the implant) on and off for for months at a time. Some have even been dosing each and every day for a number of years.
If these peptides produced dangerous effects to the immune and cardiovascular systems you would think that there would be a number of people showing the signs already.  
 
  
  

The Swedish Läkemedelsverket (Medical Products Agency, MPA) has issued a warning against using Melanotan II:
 
Warning - Sweden - LV July 26, 2010: Läkemedelsverket varnar för användning av Melanotan II (Appears to only be in Swedish)
 
-Scott

I read this board from time to time and I just need to comment on FDA "warning" .  This is the same body that has deemed aspartame safe.  I would confidently take melanotan over aspartame.   Don't believe everything coming form the governments. There is a lot of money involved in getting something FDA approved or whatever country your in.
 
Just because something is approved doesn't mean its safe and just because it is not approved does mean its not safe. The internet is a great place to receive information from all sides.  Read, do your homework and make your own decision.  Yes you are injecting something into your body for cosmetic purposes, but then again people are injecting Botox, a poison into their face.  FDA approved, but now the FDA is doing an about face and falling short of tell people to stop using it.  
 
So lets not judge a drug on government approval but on what the users are experiencing.

Im Internet werden Produkte angeboten, die die Stoffe melanotan-1 oder Melanotan II enthalten. Einige sind zur Injektion eines Implantats vorgesehen, d.h. über kleine Stäbchen, die unter der Haut ins Fettgewebe eingesetzt werden. Dort geben sie den Wirkstoff in den Körper ab und lösen sich langsam auf. Neuerdings werden die Wirkstoffe auch in Kapseln oder Nasensprays angeboten. Melanotan fördert die Bildung von Melanin, ein körpereigener Stoff, der für die dunkle Färbung der Haut verantwortlich ist. melanotan-1 und II werden deshalb vor allem zur einfachen Bräunung der Haut ohne Sonnenbad angeboten.
 
Die Anwendung melanotanhaltiger Produkte ist mit Gefahren für die Gesundheit verbunden. Diese betreffen, soweit bekannt, das Herz-Kreislaufsystem, den Verdauungstrakt und unbeabsichtigte Veränderungen der Hautfärbung. Die Selbstinjektion eines Melanotan-Implantats kann mit der Gefahr von Infektionen verbunden sein.
 
---
 
This is so poorly researched and written, it's ridiculous.
 

Quote from Scott Stevenson on 10/29/10 at 19:03:18:

Excellent! I was going to post about this. This argument is used all the time, yet I've never seen it validated by studies. Thanks.