NABP calls for action on proliferation of rogue Internet drug outlets

The US National Association of Boards of Pharmacy has released a position paper examining the "flagrant lawlessness" of web sites selling  prescription medicine over the Internet. "To see why this 'Wild ' of an  electronic marketplace is a problem, one need only follow the trail of  dead and injured patients," the paper asserts. The State of the  Internet: NABP Position Paper on the Continued Proliferation of Rogue  Internet Drug Outlets calls to task the various parties whose activities  allow this trend to continue and challenges lawmakers and regulators to  rein in this dangerous underground marketplace.

In the document, the NABP revisits the call to action of its 2003  Position Paper on the Importation of Foreign Prescription Drugs, which  states that "purchasing medications from unknown and illegal sources via  the Internet and other means is compromising the US medication  distribution system and making US citizens vulnerable to bioterrorism  attacks." The 2009 position paper notes that, "in the six years since  NABP called attention to this situation, little has changed."

The current position paper clearly elucidates the laws and practice  standards pertaining to the dispensing of prescription medicine and  poses the question, "so then why, out of 1,351 Internet drug outlets  assessed by NABP as of January 2009, do 1,183 (88%) of them continue,  unhindered, to offer prescription drugs without a valid prescription?"  The paper goes on to identify several avenues through which rogue  Internet drug outlets continue to skirt the laws established to protect  patient health and safety.