Internet is 'Pharmaceutical Candy Store'

July 9, 2008— -- OxyContin. Valium. Xanax. Vicodin. Ritalin. Adderall. Despite being some of the most commonly abused and misused prescription drugs in the country, each of these controlled drugs is readily available online and most websites sell them without prescriptions, according to a report released today by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University (CASA). Despite recent crackdowns by federal and state agencies, the report entitled, "You've Got Drugs!" found that prescription drug trafficking is alive and well on the web.

"The bottom line is that any person of any age, including children, can, with a click of a mouse, order these drugs online and get them," said CASA Chairman and President Joseph A. Califano, Jr.

Out of 365 Web sites that CASA found advertising or selling controlled prescription drugs – drugs that the Federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) controls because of abuse potential or risk – only two sites were certified by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy as legitimate online pharmacies.

"The other 363 were rogue sites," said Califano, a former U.S. Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare.

The study also found that 85 percent of Web sites selling prescription drugs do so without a physician's prescription. Of those, 42 percent stated that no prescription was required, 45 percent offered online consultations, and 13 percent did not mention prescriptions at all.

Federal law prohibits consumers from purchasing controlled prescription drugs without a valid prescription from a physician. These sites, Califano said, get around the law by having consumers complete online questionnaires or participate in virtual meetings with doctors employed by the sites.

"They're sham consultations," said Califano. "They ask you a few medical questions and then say you need this drug."

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) says that prescriptions written by these "cyber doctors" are not legitimate under the law. But at a hearing before the House Judiciary Committee last month, DEA Deputy Assistant Administrator Joseph Rannazzisi said that the proliferation of rogue Internet pharmacies has created new legal challenges, including the involvement of internet web site operators, medical practitioners and pharmacists in online consultations.