UN Agency Issues Guidelines Urging Curbs On Online Pharmacies

The International Narcotics Control Board, which implements United Nations drug control conventions, has released a set of guidelines they say will help governments prevent the sale of controlled substances online. “Internet pharmacies can be accessed by anyone, anywhere who happens to be online,” observed INCB’s president, Hamid Ghodse. The concern is that such places are selling medicines without requiring a prescription, that they are selling controlled substances, and that illicit drugs purchased online eventually end up in street markets. INCB said it worked with Interpol, the Universal Postal Union, internet service providers, the pharmaceutical industry and other organisations in drafting the guidelines. INCB’s press release on the new guidelines is available here.