ONLINE DRUG ABUSE

It's far too simple to order narcotics and other drugs over the
Internet. The (Newark, N.J) Star-Ledger reported this weekend that it
attempted to order six prescription drugs online, including OxyContin,
morphine and hydrocodone.

Of the six inquires, only the one for morphine was
denied.

Five other drugs were delivered to a rented post-office box. There was
no contact with a doctor, except for an online questionnaire. Four of
the drugs came from addresses in California and Florida -- some within
a matter of days.

A scam, perhaps? Surely authentic narcotics can't be so easily
ordered? The newspaper submitted the drugs to a pharmaceutical lab:
"All five of the drugs were at least 98.9 percent as potent as the
authentic samples and some, including the OxyContin, were actually
stronger."

Drug-enforcement officials know that buying drugs illegally exists on
mouse pads as well as street corners. Doctors who help promote it
should be banned from the practice of medicine.