Volume I

Issue : 8: October 16, 2003

• Privacy Commissioner Rules on Three PIPEDA Complaints Filed Against Banks
• U.S. Court of Appeals Finds Right to Domain Name Contingent on Ongoing Conduct
• BC Supreme Court Finds Exchange of Emails Sufficient To Form Binding Contract
• U.K. House of Lords Rejects Common Law Tort of Invasion of Privacy
• BC Supreme Court Finds Election Gag Law Unconstitutional
• Web Radio Royalty Fees Upheld
• Two U.S. Court of Appeals Release Judgments on the Scope of the Immunity Provided to ISPs Under CDA
• U.S. Regulators to Take Action Against Online Pharmacies
• Ontario Court of Appeal Overturns Internet Libel Finding

Home > Volume I > Issue 8: October 16, 2003 > U.S. Regulators to Take Action Against Online Pharmacies

U.S. Regulators to Take Action Against Online Pharmacies

The Nevada Drug Enforcement Administration has created a six-person task force to deal with emerging problems created by online pharmacies. Some online pharmacies set-up customers with doctors who simply write-up the required prescription to enable the pharmacy to supply the drug to the customers. Most requests are for addictive narcotics, for which customers would otherwise have difficulty obtaining a prescription from their regular doctor. This has lead to the emergence of a multimillion-dollar industry, with rogue sites opening and closing before regulators have the chance to find and prosecute the operators.

On October 18, 2003, the Kansas State Board of Healing Arts revoked a pathologist's license for prescribing drugs for the Netdr.com online pharmacy. Netdr.com had customers fill-out a questionnaire and pay a $50 consultation fee to have Dr. Miles Jones review the questionnaire before prescribing drugs. The board declined a submission that the questionnaire constituted a doctor-patient relationship and that Jones prescribed only to those customers that met certain criteria. Jones has already had his license revoked in six other states and suspended in two because of online prescribing. As whether the revocation of a medical license in another state is grounds for revocation in Kansas, Jones' license was also revoked on that ground. Jones had also misrepresented the status of his licenses in other states on the 2002-2003 application to renew his Kansas license.

For more information visit:

www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A50567-2003Oct19.html

www.cjonline.com/stories/101903/kan_netdr.shtml