Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-hc48f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-28T19:33:40.108Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Internet pharmacies

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Hamid Ghodse
Hamid Ghodse*
Affiliation:
Board of International Affairs International Psychiatry
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Shopping on the internet has become routine for many people and covers a wide range of products and services. It is therefore unsurprising that, in some countries, medical and pharmaceutical services can also be bought. This has clear advantages in countries such as Australia, where some communities are isolated by huge distances (or other geographical circumstances) but are able to access the internet. However, shopping for psychotropic substances is not quite the same as shopping for toothpaste or televisions. These drugs are subject to strict controls, including the requirement for prescription by a qualified medical practitioner. It is possible to implement systems so that internet shopping for and mail delivery of psychotropic substances conform to regulatory requirements; if this is done, internet pharmacies can be valuable in ensuring an adequate supply of medical provisions to all citizens, wherever they live (US General Accounting Office, 2000). However, these same sales opportunities can easily be exploited by unlicensed internet pharmacies and it is the problems caused by these illicit ‘cyber-pharmacies’ that are now the cause of grave concern.

Type
Editorial
Information
International Psychiatry , Volume 3 , Issue 1 , January 2006 , pp. 1 - 2
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BYCreative Common License - NCCreative Common License - ND
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits noncommercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is unaltered and is properly cited. The written permission of Cambridge University Press must be obtained for commercial re-use or in order to create a derivative work.
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists 2006

References

International Narcotics Control Board (1997) Report of the International Narcotics Control Board for 1997. See http://www.incb.org/incb/annual_report_1997.html. Last accessed 24 October 2005.Google Scholar
International Narcotics Control Board (2005) Report of the International Narcotics Control Board for 2004. See http://www.incb.org/incb/annual_report_2004.html. Last accessed 24 October 2005.Google Scholar
United Nations Economic and Social Council (2004) See http://www.un.org/docs/ecosoc/documents/2004/resolutions/eres2004-42.pdf. Last accessed 21 October 2005.Google Scholar
US General Accounting Office (2000) Internet Pharmacies: Adding Disclosure Requirements Would Aid State and Federal Oversight (GAO Report No. 01-69). Washington, DC: US General Accounting Office.Google Scholar
World Health Organization (2000) Progress in Essential Drugs and Medicines Policy 1998–1999. Geneva: WHO.Google Scholar
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.