Overseas-based online pharmacies are a possible source of unsupervised addictive prescription medication and should be dealt with at a national and international level, according to an article published in the current issue of The Medical Journal of Australia.

Co-author of the report, Dr Bernard St George, Child Adolescent and Family Psychiatry specialist in Sydney, says online pharmacies such as those based in Mexico and Asia, will dispense prescription medication without a prescription, including commonly misused pharmaceutical drugs such as benzodiazepines and anabolic steroids.

Dr St George said young people were most likely to use the internet to access prescription drugs, citing one 20-year-old patient who said anyone could be a misuser and pusher of drugs without relying on illicit suppliers of such drugs or 'doctor shopping'.

"Online pharmacies are subject to the laws of the country in which they are based. Those in Australia require a valid Australian prescription before prescription medication will be dispensed.

"However, in some countries such as Mexico, many prescription medications can be purchased over the counter and they can be sold over the internet without a prescription.

"There are also sites that provide, for a fee, a directory of online and land-based pharmacies that dispense prescription medications without prescription.

"The Therapeutic Goods Administration in Australia prohibits the importation of prescription medications without a permit or prescription. Imported medications must be for personal use only and cannot be on-sold, but this is difficult to police.

"The use of the internet as an alternative source of supply of prescription medications for people using illicit drugs is unlikely to overtake the street market or doctor shopping for scripts as a means of obtaining illicit drugs. However, it may have the potential to encourage people who would not purchase drugs on the street or 'doctor shop' to purchase drugs over the internet."

Drugs manufactured in Mexico are not as closely regulated as they are in Australia or the US, and are not subject to the same quality standards. This increases the potential for increased rates of addiction and accidental overdose.

Dr Alan Gijsbers, Physician at the Turning Point Drug and Alcohol Centre in Fitzroy, says cases described by St George and colleagues help to alert health professionals in the field to this new drug source. The suggestions put forward by St George and colleagues have merit, but, without more data, their alarm may be premature.

The Medical Journal of Australia is a publication of the Australian Medical Association.

CONTACT:     Dr Bernard St George, 02 9744 6431 (w)  02 9746 1152 (h)
                   Dr Alan Gijsbers, 03 9483 8451
                   Judith Tokley, AMA, 02 6270 5471, 0408 824 306