Four years ago, Tennessee became the first state in the United States to allow pharmacies to sell ivermectin to adults without a patient-specific prescription. The law allowed pharmacists to dispense the antiparasitic drug under a standing, pre-written agreement with a physician — no individual doctor's visit, no individual diagnosis, no individual prescription required. A joint investigation published June 17, 2026, by KFF Health News and ABC News — with contributions from the Tennessee Lookout and Nashville Public Radio — documents what that law has produced four years on: dozens of pharmacies selling ivermectin in pills 10 to 21 times more potent than standard tablets, billboard advertising along interstate highways, and an estimated network enabled primarily by one vaccine-opposing physician who has signed agreements with at least 10 pharmacies.
"People are taking this because they just feel unwell. It's almost like a panacea now," said Rebecca Bruccoleri, medical director of the Tennessee Poison Center, which received more than 60 calls for possible ivermectin poisoning in 2025 — the most since 2021. Those reports included vomiting, blurred vision, neurological problems, and difficulty walking.
