Death by prescription is on the rise. An analysis of 168,900 autopsies conducted in Florida in 2007 found that three times as many people were killed by legal drugs as by cocaine, heroin and all methamphetamines put together. This trend is mirrored nationally as the DEA confirms that the number of people abusing prescription drugs in the United States has jumped 80 percent in six years to seven million.
While illegal drug use is down with teens, prescription abuse is on the increase. Prescriptions are often obtained without a prescription at an online pharmacy. This year, The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University reported that of the 365 websites that advertise controlled substances, 85% of them do not require a doctor’s prescription.
In answer to this growing problem the senate passed the Ryan Haight Online Pharmacy Consumer Protection Act to curb online prescription drug trafficking, abuse, and availability. The recently passed bill amends the Controlled Substance Act by requiring face-to-face prescribing, DEA-endorsement before a pharmacy can dispense, and stiffer penalties for violators.
The bill was named after Ryan Haight, a California honors student who died from an overdose of the painkiller Vicodin he obtain over the internet by posing as a 25 year old man with chronic back pain.
We at XStream System applaud this legislature to protect our citizens and encourage consumers to purchase prescriptions only through licensed brick and mortar pharmacies or online pharmacies certified through Verified Internet Pharmacy Practice Sites (VIPPS).
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