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President Bush to sign Bill intended to stop operation of Online Rogue Pharmacies

[Oct 09, 2008] President Bush is expected to sign into a law a bill (HR 6353, S 980) that aims to end the operation of online rogue pharmacies that sell controlled substances and pharmaceutical medicines, but the measure has "limitations," the Wall Street Journal reports (Rubenstein, Wall Street Journal, 10/9).

Under the legislation, online pharmacies would be required to display information on their Web sites identifying the business, pharmacist and other physicians associated with the site.

The bill also would require a health professional to examine a patient in-person for a prescription to be considered valid.

In addition, the measure would allow state attorneys general to close rogue pharmacy Web sites across the U.S., rather than limiting their authority to stopping in-state sales.

The bill also would increase penalties for pharmacies found to be illegally distributing prescription drugs and other controlled substances (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 10/2). According to the Journal, the bill would have little effect on legal online pharmacies.

Regulators say that the measure is intended to "strengthen the federal government's ability to enforce existing statutes and make clear how they apply to the Internet," the Journal reports. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), the bill's lead sponsor in the Senate, said, "This is really making explicit what has been implicit," adding, "We've tried to close this loophole by essentially addressing this problem of controlled substances being sold without any medical oversight or prescription."

However, the legislation does not apply to online pharmacies based outside of the U.S., and it does not address noncontrolled drugs -- including erectile dysfunction drugs and muscle relaxants -- "that are popular on rogue sites," the Journal reports. The bill also does not address other entities that are involved in online pharmacy transactions, such as Internet search engines, credit card companies or package delivery companies (Wall Street Journal, 10/9).