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By Gilbert M. Gaul and Mary Pat Flaherty, Washington Post
A yearlong investigation by the Washington Post has revealed a thriving shadow market for prescription drugs on the Internet. This five-part series appeared in the Washington Post from October 19 through October 23, 2003.
These articles are reprinted with permission from Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive and The Washington Post.
Articles
Part I: U.S. Prescription Drug System Under Attack
For half a century Americans could boast of the world's safest, most tightly regulated system for distributing prescription drugs. But now that system is undercut by a growing illegal trade in pharmaceuticals.
Part II: Internet Trafficking in Narcotics Has Surged
The Internet has become a pipeline for narcotics and other deadly drugs, selling painkillers, antidepressants, stimulants and steroids with few controls and virtually no medical monitoring. For the FDA, the task of shutting down these rogue sites is daunting.
Internet Cases
Read the stories of Americans who unwittingly purchased controlled substances online from rogue pharmacies.
Part III: Doctors Medicate Strangers on Web
Doctors beset by troubled histories are being recruited by internet pharmacies to write prescriptions for narcotics and other controlled substances without medical records, examinations, lab tests or follow-ups.
Part IV: Lax System Allows Criminals To Invade the Supply Chain
Driven by advanced technology and old-fashioned greed, a new breed of highly sophisticated criminals has insinuated itself into the system that distributes medication from drug manufacturers to patients.
Part V: Millions of Americans Look Outside U.S. for Drugs
FDA and border inspection agencies have their hands full as millions of Americans are turning to Mexico and other countries in search of bargain drugs.
Graphics
The New Narcotics Pipeline
This U.S. map shows the distribution network of one online pharmacy who was selling enormous amounts of controlled substances through the Internet.
Main Street Mark-Ups
These charts show the extreme mark-ups charged by one online pharmacy for dispensing controlled substances, as well as their proportion of sales of controlled substances to brand drugs.
About the Investigation
Read more about the methodology of this yearlong investigation.
Copyright 2003, Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive and The Washington Post. All Rights Reserved. www.washingtonpost.com.
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