'You've Got Drugs!' V: Prescription Drug Pushers on the Internet

This report by The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University documents the widespread advertising and offers of sale for controlled prescription drugs, like OxyContin and Valium, Xanax and Vicodin, and Ritalin and Adderall, online and without a prescription.

Key findings include:

CASA identified a total of 365 Web sites either advertising or offering controlled prescription drugs for sale on-line; only two of those sites were registered Internet pharmacy practice sites.
Despite a decline in the past year of the number of Web sites advertising or selling controlled prescription drugs, 85 percent of Web sites selling such drugs do not require a prescription.
Of the 15 percent of sites offering drugs for sale that do indicate that a prescription is required, half simply ask that the prescription be faxed--increasing the risk of multiple use of one prescription or other fraud.
There are no controls to block the sale of these drugs to children.

The report offers a range of recommendations and calls on Congress to enact legislation closing this illicit channel of distribution.

The full report can be ordered for a small fee from the CASA website or downloaded as a PDF at no cost.

http://www.casacolumbia.org/articlefiles/531-2008%20You've%20Got%20Drugs%20V.pdf

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Publication Year: 2008

Publisher

National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA)
Columbia University
633 Third Avenue, 19th Floor
New York, ny 10017
Phone: 212-841-5200
Website: http://www.casacolumbia.org/