Internet drug sales

Fighting to stop illegal Internet drug sales... 

Toward the end of the twentieth century, the United States and Thailand tackled the international problem of illegal Internet drug sales. A United Nations (U.N.) board also called for action. 

The near-boundaryless nature of the Internet has made it difficult for regulators trying to get a handle on Internet drug sales. At minimum, regulators are overwhelmed by the sheer number of online pharmacies in operation. They are hoping that ongoing efforts to craft Internet licensing criteria will provide much-needed relief. 

Rinaldo, Denise. The Internet Drug Trade. Scholastic Choices 23, no. 2 (October 2007) 12-15. Relating stories about how two teenage girls became addicted to prescription drugs, this article focuses on access through the Internet. It criticizes sales of prescription drugs via the Internet because such sales foster problems of abuse. 

Bibliographies in various forms provide a convenient way to find books, periodical articles, and other materials. How far to go back in one s reading depends, of course, on one s research topic and goals. Obviously material about illicit drug sales on the Internet is not likely to be found earlier than the mid-1990s, while references to various forms of drug smuggling go back considerably further. 

That effort succeeded. However, the U.N. in February of 2001 warned that not all countries had laws that could be used to stop Internet drug trafficking. The U.N. s International Narcotics Control Board called on countries to adopt laws to halt Internet abuse such as the sale of illegal drugs by online pharmacies and drug stores. 

URL http //www.ftc.gov/bcp/ consumer.shtm E-mail web form Phone (202) 326-2222 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20580 Enforces laws concerned with protection of consumer interests and has dealt with issues relating to Internet sales of drugs, direct-to-consumer drug ads, and competition in health services. 

Internet sales of whippet cartridges are a growing problem that has resulted in the death of at least one nitrous user. Sold under the guise of whipped cream propellants and erotic aids, whippets are frequently sold alongside crackers, balloons, and other drug paraphernalia that make their intended use fairly clear. 

At the present time, Salvia divinorum is a legal plant in the United States, and no federal laws apply to its possession or use. It is grown for sale by cultivators in Mexico, Hawaii, and California. In recent years, Salvia has gained some popularity as a legal psychedelic drug. A wide range of people has used the plant for recreation, as an aid in meditation, or for herbal healing. As information about Salvia has spread on the Internet, the notoriety of the plant has increased. The psychedelic potential of salvinorin A has become the subject of numerous websites and chat rooms. 

As nutraceuticals are not classified as medicinal products, their manufacture is often not legally regulated. Nutraceuticals are widely available for sale, and the many suppliers may formulate their products differently this leads to variations between products of different manufacturers. Products available for purchase are not necessarily of the same quality as those used in reported clinical trials. For effective and safe use, the products must contain the same active ingredient, at the same concentration, have known bioavailability per delivery system, and state detailed and correct information on packaging or patient leaflet. However, possibly due to purchase from non-pharmaceutical sources such as the Internet, there is often little information on efficacy, drug interactions, effect of long-term use, abrupt discontinuation, or potential adverse effects available to patients. 

The Assembly appealed to the pharmaceutical industry, health professional and consumer organizations, and other interested parties to promote the formulation and use of good information practices consistent with the principles of the WHO Ethical Criteria for Medicinal Drug Promotion monitor and report problem cases and aspects of cross-border advertising, promotion, and sale of medical products using the Internet and maintain legal and ethical standards in these activities. 

Two factors that may contribute to the increased abuse of medications are "doctor shopping" to get multiple prescriptions to treat a single physical or psychological ailment and the advertisement of prescription drugs over the Internet. Sales of drugs over the Internet are difficult for officials to track. 

The BP Commission can also call on expertise available in the British Pharmacopoeia laboratories situated in the premises of the Laboratory of the Government Chemist in West London. The BP laboratory carries out and validates assay procedures for the Commission and in addition, is responsible for the procurement, establishment, maintenance and sale of British Pharmacopoeia Chemical Reference Substances (BPCRS). These reference substances, as their name suggests, are authentic samples of a drug or decomposition product which are used as standards in a drug assay. The BP laboratory also fulfils an important forensic role in the control of counterfeit medicines. With the advent of the internet, the public can easily gain access to supplies of prescription-only medicines online. These medicines are often adulterated, contaminated or simply counterfeit, and comparison with authentic samples is necessary to ensure that the correct preparation is supplied. 

The extraordinary advances in digital, medical, and scientific technology over the past decade have had a tremendous impact on the way in which we live and work today. Nowhere is this more evident than in the high tech realm of pharmaceutical research. The completion of the Human Genome Project, the increased speed and power of computers, and the invention of sophisticated laboratory equipment and techniques have opened up new avenues of discovery that are rapidly paving the way toward tomorrow s blockbuster drugs. Outside the labs, both the Internet and the media have provided consumers and physicians alike with instant access to unprecedented amounts of medical news and information. This not only fuels the demand for better, faster treatments but it also redefines the arena in which companies vie for sales and market share. 

To create an Internet task force to investigate the sale of club drugs over the Internet... 

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