In some states, Florida, for example, you can't buy over-the-counter cough medicine without showing ID and being logged into the system, but you can buy OxyContin over the Internet anytime and from any location without even having a prescription.
Internet prescription sites may be convenient for many of us, but the ease with which drugs can be obtained gives serious cause for concern.
In fact, the number of people needing drug rehab for prescription drugs is now close to those using street drugs.
Since 1992 prescription drug abuse has increased by 94%.
At the end of 2004 there were more individuals reporting prescription drug abuse than the combined number of individuals abusing cocaine, hallucinogens, inhalants, and heroin.
Of particular concern is that one in five teens have reported abusing prescription drugs with over 80% having used an opioid such as OxyContin or Vicodin.
Without drug rehab, opioid prescription drugs can be just as hard to kick as heroin.
The problem is that over half of these kids believe that getting high from prescription medicine is much safer than street drugs, and three out of ten see nothing wrong with abusing prescription medication 'once in a while.
' These kids also believe that prescription medication isn't addictive.
It's a grave misconception and one that has sent an increasing number of individuals into drug rehab centers.
More and more websites are setting up shop and profiting off this very misconception.
From 2004 to 2006 the number of sites selling prescription drugs increased over 20%.
The danger: 89% of these pharmacies have no prescription requirements and only 11% state the need for a prescription.
Of the sites requesting a prescription, 90% allow it to be faxed in essentially opening the door to forgery as well as multiple submissions to different pharmacies using the same prescription.
Additionally, of the Internet pharmacies that require no prescription, 30% boldly state that one is not required, 60% offer an online consultation which is nothing more than an online questionnaire on which you can supply whatever information your want, true or false, and 10% make no mention of a prescription at all.
With this type of access, a fifteen-year-old with an ATM card can order prescription medication from home in the middle of the week, request overnight delivery and have it in time for the party on the weekend.
And it's been done.
Researchers with Beau Dietal and Associates conducted an experiment wherein a thirteen-year-old was supervised while ordering Ritalin over the Internet.
All information was filled out by the individual including her true weight, height, and age.
Her order was processed and she received the Ritalin.
How many kids are going to develop a prescription drug addiction this way? And how many are going to need drug rehab, or wind up in the ER or the morgue? Obviously, some serious regulations need to be placed on Internet pharmacies and there are many agencies working to combat the problem.
But because the access is so easy, and abuse too common, we must also educate our children about the dangers of prescription drug abuse just as one would with illicit street drugs such as heroin or cocaine.
Statistically, kids whose parents talk to them about drugs are 50% less likely to use them.
Talk to your kids, and you may be able to avoid the need for a drug rehab program in the future.