Copyright 2000 The Chronicle Publishing Co.
The San
Francisco Chronicle
JANUARY 3, 2000, MONDAY, FINAL EDITION
SECTION: EDITORIAL; Pg. A18; EDITORIALS
LENGTH: 387 words
HEADLINE:
States Should Control Internet Drug Sales
BODY:
PRESIDENT CLINTON wants to crack down on rogue Internet
pharmacies that illegally sell prescription drugs over the Web
without requiring prescriptions or physician consultations.
While some
controls on free-wheeling online drug stores are appropriate, Clinton's proposal
would grant the federal government unprecedented authority to oversee and
certify hundreds of Internet drug stores currently under state jurisdiction.
E-commerce is still in its infancy. There is reason to fear federal
intrusion might hobble its growth and development. Except for a ban on child
pornography, the Web is largely unregulated. Legitimate Internet pharmacies
require customers to prove they have a doctor's prescription before filling an
order, but many do not. Online sales of pharmaceuticals are growing by leaps and
bounds with few federal constraints and virtually free of traditional medical
safeguards.
Internet drug sales were about $44 million
this year and are projected to reach $1 billion by 2003.
Consumers in increasing numbers are switching on their computers to purchase
prescription medicines.
Online purchases are convenient and allow shy
customers to avoid the embarrassment of ordering the potency drug Viagra or
Propecia for baldness, the two most commonly dispensed drugs on the Internet.
Last week, Clinton proposed regulations that would require online
pharmacies to obtain FDA certification; give the federal agency new powers to
subpoena records of Internet drug stores and the authority to impose
$500,000 fines for each illegal sale of prescription drugs.
The proposal also includes a $10 million budget request
to mobilize an FDA enforcement team.
Critics of the plan argue that
regulating the sale of drugs and medicines should remain the responsibility of
the states, which license physicians and pharmacists.
And new federal
rules are not likely to curb Web sites beyond U.S. borders, where many outlaws
operate.
The federal government is a little too eager to control and tax
commerce on the Internet. But it's too early to harness the vigor of this
emerging marketplace when its vast potential is only starting to be realized.
States should be given every opportunity to control drug sales within
their jurisdictions before the federal government steps in.
LOAD-DATE: January 3, 2000
