UN calls for action on internet drugs

The International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) reports that there is an increase in cyber trafficking of pharmaceutical products containing internationally controlled substances.  Its annual report says internet pharmacies are shipping prescription- only drugs across the globe.

Citing uneven and lax implementation of laws governing the Internet, the Board urges Governments to take a more proactive stand.

In some recently seized Internet pharmacies in the United States, nearly 90% of the orders were for internationally controlled substances, including hydrocodone, prozac, diazepam. tamoxifen and alprazolam, substances for which an increasing number of emergency room admissions are reported.

The report warns the drug ritalin – used to treat hyperactive children – carries a high risk of abuse but was advertised on some websites as a “mild and harmless stimulant".

Besides being shipped by mail within the US, these Internet-ordered drugs are also being smuggled by mail to other countries.

The INCB report says that psychotropic substances for sale through the Internet have been shipped from Asian countries to European countries and the US.  Significant quantities have been intercepted in mail centres in Thailand and India.

Pakistan has also been identified as one country of origin of such illegal shipments ordered via Internet pharmacies.  The INCB says that customs authorities in Switzerland have intercepted many mail deliveries from Pakistan.

The report says that illicitly operating Internet pharmacies cater to three vulnerable groups of customers: poly-drug users who take large quantities of these pharmaceutical drugs; former patients who become addicted to these drugs during treatment and cannot stop the habit; and people who buy prescription medicines via the Internet because such orders do not involve doctors’ visits, and may be cheaper.

A major reason for such risky behavior is said to be the “dangerously widespread perception that misuse and abuse of pharmaceutical products is not as harmful as the abuse of illicitly manufactured drugs".  

The INCB report stresses that controlling Internet pharmacies is a complicated task, because these online pharmacies are operating all over the world and can and do relocate their business.  “Different national laws and regulations make it very difficult to consistently identify and investigate illicit use of the Internet."

In addition, the sheer volume of letters and parcels shipped on a daily basis make it difficult for law enforcement agencies to detect illicit shipments and identify sources of illicit supply.