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| Cheboygan CountySheriff Todd Ross |
By Cheboygan County Sheriff Todd A. Ross
(As first printed in the Traverse City Record-Eagle)
It’s not coming from a back alley or a drug cartel. It’s coming from places that seem a whole lot
more familiar: Your phone, your social media feed, and websites that look just polished enough to seem safe.
I’m talking about the explosion of counterfeit and compounded GLP-1 drugs – like semaglutide
and tirzepatide – sold online, marketed through Instagram and TikTok ads, and distributed by
so-called “wellness clinics” that often have no proper licensing at all.
Originally, these drugs were developed for diabetes treatment and weight loss. When prescribed by a licensed medical professional and dispensed through a legitimate pharmacy, they can be powerful tools for better health. But what’s happening now is different – and dangerous.
Some of these operations aren’t even pretending anymore: they’re selling directly through social media, shipping products from overseas, or compounding substances in facilities that wouldn’t pass even the most basic safety inspection.
We are seeing unlicensed providers write prescriptions after a quick online quiz. We’re seeing
beauty spas and strip-mall clinics mixing and injecting powerful drugs without any real oversight.
We’re seeing counterfeit products shipped through the mail, mislabeled as the real thing.
This isn’t a personal health choice anymore – it’s a public safety threat. And it’s one that’s
growing right under our noses because it’s marketed to look clean, modern, and safe.
Let’s be clear: No social media ad, no influencer recommendation, and no cut-rate online clinic
can replace the safety of a prescription written by a doctor you trust and filled by a pharmacy
you know. If you’re injecting something into your body, you better be sure it’s what you think it is.
Right now, too many people aren’t.
I’m not alone in raising the alarm. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, along with attorneys general from 37 other states and territories, has urged the Food and Drug Administration to crack down on this dangerous pipeline of counterfeit and illegally compounded GLP-1 drugs.
We’ve seen the fallout from counterfeit drugs before -overdoses, infections, deaths.
We’ve seen compounding pharmacy scandals where simple negligence turned into a national
emergency.
And now, with the speed and reach of social media, the danger moves faster than ever.
My message to the community is simple: If you need treatment, go through a licensed doctor.
Fill your prescriptions at a pharmacy you trust. If someone is offering you a quick fix online or
through an app, walk away.
As a county sheriff who spent the majority of his law enforcement career investigating drug
crimes, it’s my duty to protect this community from all kinds of threats, including the ones that
don’t always look dangerous at first glance.
Let’s stay sharp. Let’s stay safe. And let’s make sure we’re not the next cautionary headline.
Todd A. Ross is the sheriff of Cheboygan County.
In my time serving in law enforcement, I’ve seen a lot of threats to public safety. But today,
there’s one quietly building momentum that we can’t afford to ignore.
there’s one quietly building momentum that we can’t afford to ignore.
It’s not coming from a back alley or a drug cartel. It’s coming from places that seem a whole lot
more familiar: Your phone, your social media feed, and websites that look just polished enough to seem safe.
I’m talking about the explosion of counterfeit and compounded GLP-1 drugs – like semaglutide
and tirzepatide – sold online, marketed through Instagram and TikTok ads, and distributed by
so-called “wellness clinics” that often have no proper licensing at all.
Originally, these drugs were developed for diabetes treatment and weight loss. When prescribed by a licensed medical professional and dispensed through a legitimate pharmacy, they can be powerful tools for better health. But what’s happening now is different – and dangerous.
Every day, ads pop up offering “discount Ozempic” or “affordable weight-loss injections” — no
real doctor visit, no real pharmacy, and no guarantee of what’s actually in the syringe.
real doctor visit, no real pharmacy, and no guarantee of what’s actually in the syringe.
Some of these operations aren’t even pretending anymore: they’re selling directly through social media, shipping products from overseas, or compounding substances in facilities that wouldn’t pass even the most basic safety inspection.
We are seeing unlicensed providers write prescriptions after a quick online quiz. We’re seeing
beauty spas and strip-mall clinics mixing and injecting powerful drugs without any real oversight.
We’re seeing counterfeit products shipped through the mail, mislabeled as the real thing.
This isn’t a personal health choice anymore – it’s a public safety threat. And it’s one that’s
growing right under our noses because it’s marketed to look clean, modern, and safe.
Let’s be clear: No social media ad, no influencer recommendation, and no cut-rate online clinic
can replace the safety of a prescription written by a doctor you trust and filled by a pharmacy
you know. If you’re injecting something into your body, you better be sure it’s what you think it is.
Right now, too many people aren’t.
I’m not alone in raising the alarm. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, along with attorneys general from 37 other states and territories, has urged the Food and Drug Administration to crack down on this dangerous pipeline of counterfeit and illegally compounded GLP-1 drugs.
We’ve seen the fallout from counterfeit drugs before -overdoses, infections, deaths.
We’ve seen compounding pharmacy scandals where simple negligence turned into a national
emergency.
And now, with the speed and reach of social media, the danger moves faster than ever.
My message to the community is simple: If you need treatment, go through a licensed doctor.
Fill your prescriptions at a pharmacy you trust. If someone is offering you a quick fix online or
through an app, walk away.
As a county sheriff who spent the majority of his law enforcement career investigating drug
crimes, it’s my duty to protect this community from all kinds of threats, including the ones that
don’t always look dangerous at first glance.
Let’s stay sharp. Let’s stay safe. And let’s make sure we’re not the next cautionary headline.
Todd A. Ross is the sheriff of Cheboygan County.
️The foundation allowance is locked in at $12,000 per student (+$2,392) - an all-time record! 
The House Republican education budget delivers for our teachers, students and parents!
WITHOUT
Cut $1 billion+ of corporate welfare
Use the sales tax ALREADY paid at the pump
️Prioritize current funding in the budget
Cut $600 million in wasteful, BS spending
House Republicans also passed the bipartisan Public Safety And Violence Prevention Trust Fund to support local police departments and Sheriffs all across Michigan with nearly $120 million
For the first time ever, any legislator requesting a special earmark project had to put their name behind it.
However, over in the Senate---where Dem Appropriations Chair Sara Anthony actually said she doesn't give a damn about the July 1st legal deadline---it's been a much different story. 
