Lawmakers examine sale of controlled substances through Internet

WASHINGTON Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. ? A recent survey of Web sites selling controlled substances to U.S. residents showed that many are powered by computers in the states and have been in operation for more than a year, according to a report prepared for House lawmakers.

The report suggests to lawmakers that it is possible to crack down on illicit Web sites because they are not the fly-by-night operations that some envision.

“A concerted, programmatic effort to take down these Web sites … could have a significant impact on illicit product availability,” states the report, which was compiled for a subcommittee that conducts investigations for the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

IntegriChain, Inc., a New Jersey company that works for pharmaceutical manufacturers, looked at a sample of 180 Web sites that claimed to sell certain types of drugs, such as painkillers, anabolic steroids and sleeping pills.

The government classifies such drugs based on five schedules. Schedule I is reserved for the most dangerous drugs that have no recognized medicinal use, such as heroin. Schedule V is reserved for less dangerous drugs, such as Valium.

The company said its findings seriously question whether the more dangerous Schedule 2 drugs, such as Ritalin or Percocet are easily available through the Internet. However, among Schedule 3 drugs, anabolic steroids “appear to be a particular area of concern.”

The report did not cover some of the drugs commonly advertised through the Internet, such as Viagra or Lipitor, because they are not controlled substances.

IntegriChain looked at 180 Web sites that it said advertised the sale of Schedule 2, 3 and 4 medicines. Those sites represented at most 129 distinct operations, meaning that some organizations operate multiple Web sites.

About half of the sites appeared to be online for more than a year. About the same amount are powered by computers in the U.S., the company found.

As to the legality of the sites, IntegriChain said it could not represent that every site in the sample violates U.S. law. However, it did come across many that suggested problems, such as the offering of selling controlled substances without a prescription.

In its efforts to combat the illegal sale of controlled substances over the Internet, the subcommittee also plans to hear testimony from companies such as Google, Yahoo, Visa and Federal Express.

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On the Net:

Energy and Commerce Committee: http://www.energycommerce.house.gov