PRESCRIPTION DRUG ABUSE ON THE RISE

More People Are Buying Certain Medications On The Internet

CHICAGO - At colleges across the country, students are taking pills
they've sneaked from home, tossing them into bowls and swallowing
handfuls with a chug of beer or a sip of a margarita.

The face of drug addiction is changing in America, from cocaine or
heroin addicts snorting or shooting up to teenagers and grandmothers
popping pills purchased at the local pharmacy or delivered through the
mail in plain packages.

For many people, popping pills may appear to be a less stigmatized way
to get relief from the stress of daily life.

But the rise of the Internet as a source of illegal prescription drugs
presents new challenges. At least 2,000 Web sites now sell
prescription drugs, the FDA estimates.

The FDA and the Drug Enforcement Administration last week teamed to
form a task force, Operation Gray Lord, that will aggressively pursue
outfits that market prescription drugs illegally over the Internet.
Doctors who prescribe drugs over the Internet based only on customers'
answers to e-mail questionnaires also may be targeted.