Abstract
Imagine for a moment that after borrowing a credit card, a teenager strolls down the block to the local pharmacy. At the pharmacy, a doctor is at the door waiting and willing to prescribe anything to anyone. After answering a few questions, the teenager receives his prescription, where he takes it to the drug counter and places an order for a dangerous amount of painkillers. Imagine further that the teenager develops an addiction to the drugs and purchases an increased dosage each visit until finally, the teen dies from an overdose from the easily obtained prescription drugs. The situation described above is drawn from a real event. Nearly the very same chain of events happened to seventeen year old Ryan Haight. The only difference was that Ryan never even had to leave his home. Ryan visited an online pharmacy and obtained a prescription from a doctor he had never met for drugs he did not need. Using his father's credit card, Ryan had the drugs delivered to his home. Tragically, Ryan became addicted to the drugs and eventually died of an overdose at age eighteen.
Recommended Citation
Note, Progress in the Challenge to Regulate Online Pharmacies, 23 J.L. & Health 113 (2010)