US Government Targets Online Pharmacies
Doesn't want consumers to be able to choose
In their search for cheaper prescription drugs, Americans are increasingly turning to Internet pharmacies, which federal investigators say skirt U.S. and state regulations and sell misbranded, adulterated and counterfeit drugs. These transactions — often without a legitimate prescription —put consumers at risk, the Government Accountability Office said in a new report.
Most of these rogue Internet pharmacies are located overseas, which often puts them beyond U.S. enforcement action, and are also skilled at avoiding detection and identification, the GAO said. Even when the U.S. has used diplomatic pressure to close their websites, many pop up again under new names.
The problem is big and getting bigger. According to LegitScript, an Internet pharmacy verification service, there were more than 34,000 active rogue Internet pharmacies as of April 2013.
Hide Comments (0)
Editor's Note: As of February 29, 2024, commenting privileges on reason.com posts are limited to Reason Plus subscribers. Past commenters are grandfathered in for a temporary period. Subscribe here to preserve your ability to comment. Your Reason Plus subscription also gives you an ad-free version of reason.com, along with full access to the digital edition and archives of Reason magazine. We request that comments be civil and on-topic. We do not moderate or assume any responsibility for comments, which are owned by the readers who post them. Comments do not represent the views of reason.com or Reason Foundation. We reserve the right to delete any comment and ban commenters for any reason at any time. Comments may only be edited within 5 minutes of posting. Report abuses.
Please
to post commentsMute this user?
Ban this user?
Un-ban this user?
Nuke this user?
Un-nuke this user?
Flag this comment?
Un-flag this comment?