Online Pharmacies Partnership for Safe Medicines

Online Pharmacies

The proliferation of counterfeit drugs on the global market coupled with easy availability via online pharmacies is an increasing problem. The makers of counterfeit drugs have enjoyed and profited from loopholes in a system designed to deliver healthy medicines to those in need. The rising cost of prescription medications and the ubiquitous presence of overseas and online pharmacies mean more people than ever are threatened by these counterfeiting operations.

According to some sources, there are at least 1,000 Web sites selling prescription drugs. Of course, not all of them are legitimate. Considering the sheer number of hits an Internet search for “online pharmacy” returns, it’s not surprising that the U.S. Senate has put the Online Pharmacy Consumer Protection Act of 2007 on its legislative calendar.

One provision in the Act will prohibit an online pharmacy from selling a controlled substance over the Internet without a valid prescription.

As noted elsewhere, by confronting the safety issues associated with online pharmacies, requiring a prescription is step in the right direction. But it needs to go much further. It should require online pharmacies to be certified so customers can recognize which pharmacies are legitimate.

Stories of people who’ve died after purchasing controlled substances through online pharmacies are tragic. Unfortunately, online drug peddlers prey upon an increasing demand among the bulk of new abusers in the 12 to 17 year old age group. Further, beyond selling drugs of abuse to children, unregulated online pharmacies also maim and injure patients by passing off fakes.

Unregulated online pharmacies represent a lose-lose situation—patients getting the drugs of abuse they want; and patients not getting the drugs of treatment they need.

Regulating these online pharmacies should include verification that consumers have a valid prescription. But these sellers should also be licensed in the state where they sell drugs just like normal pharmacies, and be subject to rigorous oversight standards, such as the VIPPS program created by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy.

The Partnership for Safe Medicines (PSM) is a group of organizations and individuals working together to protect the safety of your prescription drugs. We invite you to join us in our stand against unregulated online pharmacies and use our resources to help you verify which online pharmacies are legitimate as well as safe alternatives for patients who cannot afford to fill their prescriptions and get medicine they need.