Getting serious about stopping illegal drug sales on the Internet

In early 2001 a tragedy hit a family in California and became emblematic of a pernicious problem destroying our youth.  A beautiful boy, good student, athletic, ambitious, overdosed on prescription painkillers he bought on-line.

Over the ensuing seven years, young Ryan Haight became the martyr from whose tragic passing good evolved. By the hard work of his dedicated parents, his father a physician, his mother a nurse,  Congress passed the Ryan Haight Online Pharmacy Consumer Protection Act with support from both sides of the aisle--from Dianne Feinstein on the left to Michelle Bachmann on the right.  The Senate vote was by unanimous consent.  President Bush signed the bill in 2008.

The Act provides that, "No controlled substance that is a prescription drug as determined under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act may be delivered, distributed, or dispensed by means of the Internet without a valid prescription."

The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) Federal Regulations provides "... that the dispensing of controlled substances by means of the Internet be predicated on a valid prescription involving at least one in-person medical evaluation."

The DEA is charged to enforce the Act with criminal sanctions, and States' Attorneys General are also empowered to bring action again rogue "pharmacies"; yet, each is resource-constrained.  The independent web site, Legit Script, sanctioned by he National Association of Boards of Pharmacy, has identified over 50,000 web unlawful web sites, in contrast to fewer than 400 that meet minimum standards.

Hence, this site: part information repository, part advocacy, we seek to lobby for the enforcement of an Act to protect our children that is already on the books. The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University has published a paper, the title of which describes the gravity of this national problem: Wasting the Best and the Brightest: Substance Abuse at America’s Colleges and Universities.

Please consider signing our petition and please visit this site often as we hope to update it as we learn more.