Online prescription: online pharmacies

Wednesday, June 14, 2006

online pharmacies

Schumer pushes bill to crack down on illegal online pharmacies ...
Mid-Hudson News - Newburgh,NY,USA
... a new three-point plan that he says will crack down on illegal online pharmacies and combat the growing epidemic of teenagers using prescription drugs to get ...


In light of new reports of rampant prescription drug abuse by teenagers, U.S. Senator Charles Schumer Wednesday announced a new three-point plan that he says will crack down on illegal online pharmacies and combat the growing epidemic of teenagers using prescription drugs to get high. While overall drug use is down, abuse of prescription drugs among kids between the ages of 12 and 19 remains more common than regular use of cocaine, methamphetamine, or ecstasy. Schumer released a report estimating that more than 150,000 upstate New York teenagers have abused prescription drugs.
Of the 236,172 teens living in the Hudson Valley, an estimated 44,873 have used prescription drugs to get high.
According to the Partnership for a Drug Free America, one in five teenagers between the ages of 12 and 19 have used prescription drugs to get high. The prescription drugs most frequently abused by teenagers include stimulants such as Ritalin and Adderall, and painkillers like Vicodin and OxyContin. Vicodin use in particular is up, with 10 percent of 12th-graders reporting they had used the drug within the last year. While prescription drugs can be very helpful under the care and monitoring of a doctor, non-medical use of these substances can lead to serious health risks, addiction, or death.
In response to this growing epidemic, Schumer announced a three-point plan to crack down on these online pharmacies and improve government drug awareness programs. He is co-sponsoring the Internet Pharmacy Consumer Protection Act (S.399) which counters the growing sale of prescription drugs over the Internet without a valid prescription.
He urged the Office of National Drug Control Policy to launch a new media campaign that would be specifically targeted toward informing teens and adults about the dangers of prescription drug abuse. And he called for $50 million in additional funding for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

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