Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions

Floor Speech

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Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce legislation that will help stop criminals from exploiting the Internet to illegally sell prescription drugs. I am pleased to be joined in this effort by Senator Sessions, Senator Schumer, and Senator Cornyn.

I first became concerned about the issue of illegitimate online pharmacies in 2001, when one of my constituents, high school student Ryan Haight, died from an overdose of the controlled substance Vicodin. He had purchased the Vicodin from a rogue online pharmacy after simply filling out an online questionnaire in which he described himself as a 25-year-old male suffering from chronic back pain. The doctor prescribing the drug never met or personally examined Ryan.

Ryan's death was a terrible tragedy. He was a remarkable young man, an honors student and an athlete. He looked forward to going to college. Instead, his life was cut short.

In response, I introduced legislation, beginning in 2004, to better regulate
the online sale of prescription drugs that are controlled substances.
In 2008, the Ryan Haight Online Pharmacy Consumer Protection Act, Ryan Haight Act, was enacted into law, and it became effective in April 2009. Senator Sessions was the lead cosponsor on that legislation.

The Ryan Haight Act makes it a violation of the Controlled Substances Act to dispense a prescription for a controlled substance by means of the Internet without a practitioner having conducted at least one in-person medical evaluation of the purchaser. The act also requires online pharmacies to register with the Drug Enforcement Administration, DEA, and comply with DEA regulations.

The Ryan Haight Act has helped to prevent illegitimate online sales of prescribed controlled substances. However, illegitimate online sellers continue to sell other types of prescription drugs, and stronger laws are needed to stop them.

The sale of prescription drugs online by web sites acting unlawfully is a dangerous and widespread problem. The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy and other non-profit organizations that monitor the Internet have consistently found that about 96 percent of all Internet pharmacies don't require a prescription, aren't appropriately licensed, and sell unregulated drugs.

Theses illegitimate online pharmacies continue to cause serious harm. The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy reports that from the start of its Internet Drug Outlet Identification Program in April 2008, it has received 509 customer inquiries about online prescription drug sellers, and 21 of those customers have reported injuries. Some of these injuries were very serious leading to hospitalization, with customers suffering worsening symptoms caused by the ailment the medications were intended to treat, as well as severe side effects.

The easy accessibility of prescription drugs through illegitimate online drug sellers also contributes to a growing prescription drug abuse problem. A study published in the May 2011 edition of the Journal of Health Affairs suggests that the growth in high-speed Internet access has fueled prescription drug abuse. Conducted by investigators from Massachusetts General Hospital and the University of Southern California, the study found that, over a 7-year period, States with the greatest expansion in high-speed Internet access also had the largest increase in admissions for treatment of prescription drug abuse.

We should be particularly concerned about this problem when it comes to young people, who are frequently online unsupervised and vulnerable to rogue drug sellers on the Internet.

Not surprisingly, there is also a significant amount of fraud associated with illegitimate online drug sellers. Some of these websites simply take money without providing anything in return.

Web sites that dispense counterfeit drugs are an even more dangerous problem. These counterfeit drugs are frequently manufactured in unsanitary conditions and may contain contaminated ingredients, or the wrong ingredients. A recent CBS News story found that counterfeit drugs can contain paint, floor wax, and boric acid. So, instead of the appropriate medicine needed for their health problem, online consumers are receiving substances that may harm or even kill them.

The legislation I am introducing today will address these problems, and help stop illegitimate online drug sellers.

There are two main components to the legislation. First, it amends the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act to add a definition of ``valid prescription,'' requiring at least one in-person medical evaluation of the patient. This is the same approach taken in the Ryan Haight Act with prescription drugs that are controlled substances. It will prevent illegitimate online pharmacies from selling drugs over the Internet with sham prescriptions.

The second critical element is the establishment, by the Food and Drug Administration, of a registry of legitimate online pharmacy websites. This will protect consumers who will know that they are dealing with lawful online pharmacies and help law enforcement crack down on the illegitimate websites.

The exploitation of the Internet by rogue online drug sellers continues to be a dangerous and deadly problem and we should not wait for more lives to be lost or ruined before we act.

Consumers deserve access to safe and legitimate online pharmacies and protection from illegitimate websites that sell counterfeit or otherwise illegitimate medication, and I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

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