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A few years ago I tried to buy contact lenses online. I couldn’t do it without first going to an optometrist and getting a prescription. The strength I was using hadn’t changed in a decade and the worst consequence was discomfort that would make them unwearable, or not being able to see very well. So, I’d replace them. However, if I want to get a prescription drug that could turn me into a drug addict, ruin my life and that of my family, and possibly kill me or land me in drug detox and rehab, no problem.

How easy is it to get prescription drugs online? According to an article I read today, trucking companies in Appalachia had to add trucks to their routes to accommodate drug shipments from illegal online pharmacies. That’s just one small area of the U.S. Illegal online pharmacies are making doctor shopping obsolete. Just go online with your credit card, and hundreds of websites will supply you with addictive and potentially deadly prescription drugs.

Here’s how it works: The person ordering the prescription fills out an online questionnaire. The questionnaire is reviewed by a doctor who has made an agreement with the online pharmacy to do so – he needs money, maybe is in debt, maybe retired. The doctor writes the prescription. The customer pays the online pharmacy which then gets the prescription filled by a down-on-its-luck legitimate pharmacy that sends the drugs to the customer.

The doctor gets $10 - $25, the legitimate pharmacy makes money on the prescription plus a little extra, and the customer gets the drugs.

Simple, and deadly.

More than 98.5 million dosage units of hydrocodone products were illegally dispensed by online pharmacies last year, enough for a month’s supply for 410,000 people. And quite possibly enough to fill every drug detox center in the U.S. capable of handling prescription drug addiction.

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