President Bush Asks Congress To Pass Bill To Restrict Online Sales of Prescription Drugs
President Bush on Saturday during his weekly radio address asked Congress to pass a bill (S 2237) that would restrict online sales of prescription drugs, the Los Angeles Times reports. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) introduced the legislation in response to the death of Ryan Haight, an 18-year-old who overdosed on hydrocodone that he purchased online. The physician who prescribed the hydrocodone never met or examined Haight, who identified himself as a 25-year-old man with chronic back pain in a questionnaire from an online pharmacy. Under the bill, which awaits consideration by the full Senate, physicians would have to conduct in-person examinations before they prescribe medications online.
Bush made the request as part of his 2008 national drug control policy, which includes a recommendation that parents safeguard their medications and discard any they do not use (Gaouette, Los Angeles Times, 3/2). The strategy seeks to reduce drug use by 10% among children and teens through random tests of students, community outreach programs, and screening and prevention at physician offices (AP/Long Island Newsday, 3/1). Bush said that, although illicit drug use among children and teens has decreased by 24% since 2001, the rate of prescription drug abuse has increased during the same period.
Bush said, "Unfortunately, many young Americans do not understand how dangerous abusing medication can be," adding, "In recent years, the number of Americans who have died from prescription drug overdoses has increased" (Los Angeles Times, 3/2). In addition, Bush said, "The Internet has brought about tremendous benefits for those who cannot easily get to a pharmacy in person," adding, "However, it has also created an opportunity for unscrupulous doctors and pharmacists to profit from addiction" (AP/Long Island Newsday, 3/1).
John Walters, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, said, "What we're concerned about is the diversion, for the purposes of abuse, of controlled substances, principally painkillers" (Los Angeles Times, 3/2).
