Okay. I think I have been one of the voices of reason, right? Well this article I found this morning sent chills down my spine.

Bill would tighten online pharmacy rules
Attorney general’s proposal aimed at prescription abuse

By Hayli Fellwock, -- 270-783-3240

Saturday, February 05, 2005

Kentucky Attorney General Greg Stumbo proposed legislation Friday to crack down on the growing problem of prescription drugs being purchased on the Internet for resale on the black market.

Bill Request 1133, if passed, would tighten regulations for Internet pharmacies and increase monitoring of incoming pharmaceutical packages from outside Kentucky. The bill incorporates elements of legislation passed in Florida and Nevada.

“We’ve checked both those states and they’ve had good results,” Stumbo said.

BR 1133 also adds new ideas suggested by a statewide task force consisting of prosecutors and members of law enforcement and public service agencies.

“We are adding an enhanced penalty section so the Board of Pharmacy, if it finds an entity is not in compliance, it can levy a pretty hefty fine,” Stumbo said.

Though more commonly seen in eastern Kentucky, the new trend in drug trafficking has touched Warren County at least three times, said Bowling Green-Warren County Drug Task Force Detective Shane West.

One case involved Bowling Green businessman Larry Deaton, who pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in October to wire fraud and conspiracy charges, as well as six counts of obtaining a controlled substance by fraud, forgery, deception or subterfuge. He also has drug charges pending in Warren Circuit Court.

The authorities were tipped off, West said, by a shipping carrier who noticed odd behavior and reported it.

“They just said it was weird because they said sometimes he’d sign for it and sometimes he’d say, ‘Send it back to the depot and I’ll send somebody to pick it up.’ The circumstances just weren’t right to the carrier – it’s like they were nervous about signing for it at the time.”

Law enforcement will increasingly look to shipping carriers to be their eyes and ears, especially if the proposed legislation is passed.
Ideally, the Board of Pharmacy would issue an identifier like a barcode or number to each legal Internet pharmaceutical supplier, Stumbo said. That barcode or number would be placed on the outside of drug packages to help shipping carriers identify, sort out and report to law enforcement any packages that are non-compliant.

“You know what pills sound like in a bottle. You know what’s in there, plus you know where it’s coming from,” West said. He added that many of the current problems come from Florida-based Internet pharmacies.

Illegal packages could be confiscated by law enforcement under BR 1133, an idea suggested during the task force’s most recent meeting on Thursday.

“Right now, you can get on the Internet with a credit card, describe your illness and get 100 Loritabs ... 50 Oxycontin pills. You obviously don’t have a need for those,” Stumbo said. “They are shipped to you the next day and those are the ones that are making it onto the black market. We think there’s literally hundreds of thousands of dollars of these drugs that come into Kentucky every day and reach the black market.”

In addition to reducing illegal Internet pharmaceutical sales, the proposed legislation would address safety issues with the shipping carriers, Stumbo said.

“It’s a huge safety concern for them,” he said. “Their drivers are out there carrying these packages and we have had incidents as recently as (Thursday) night where an individual looking pretty distraught – perhaps high on some substance – came in demanding his package.”

Under the proposed legislation, Internet pharmacies would remain compliant by being licensed by the Board of Pharmacy and by reporting more frequently and in greater detail to the Kentucky All Schedule Prescription Electronic Reporting, or KASPER, system.

A bill passed during the 2004 legislative session upgraded KASPER to help crack down on over-prescribing by Kentucky physicians and “doctor shopping” among Kentucky consumers attempting to gather as many drugs as possible.

That legislation required Kentucky pharmacies to report more punctually to the KASPER system, which in turn provides more data to indicate the areas in which over prescribing is occurring.

“Let’s take the Big Sandy region – we know, statistically, how many people have cancer and various illnesses and how many medicines should be prescribed, and if we see a sharp increase by 20 or 30 percent, that will automatically launch an investigation by the Medical Licensure Board,” Stumbo said. “Before, we could only use KASPER in a reactive – not a proactive – manner.”

Similar to the previous KASPER legislation, BR 1133 would require – within six months of the prescription fill date – a face-to-face physical exam with a physician licensed in Kentucky.

“That’s going to be a pretty big deterrent to people who would order this type of contraband over the Internet,” Stumbo said.

While prohibiting packages from illegal Internet pharmacies, the proposed legislation would not infringe on the individual rights of honest citizens to purchase prescription medicines from legitimate Internet pharmacies, Stumbo said.

Legitimate Internet pharmacies would be required to display on their Web site a seal of approval from the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy certifying that it is a “Verified Internet Pharmacy Practice Site.”

While legitimate Internet pharmacies could still be abused by drug addicts, Stumbo said the legislation could help put a damper on what is currently a widespread problem.

“It can be done,” he said. “I can’t say it will stop, but it will slow to a drip.”

Stumbo named Internet pharmaceutical sales as a top problem in fighting drugs, along with the methamphetamine epidemic.

Further legislation is currently being drafted by Gov. Ernie Fletcher’s office to combat the meth problem.

“We have tried to act quickly, and I think that’s what we’re going to have to do if we’re going to beat the drug problem, because I guarantee you those people – because they are so addicted – will find a way to get those drugs,” Stumbo said. “It’ll be something new in a couple months. So our perspective, from a law enforcement standpoint, is to keep on top of that.”

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Now the part I am concerned about is part that I placed in bold about the the guy who was arrested. Now I talked to my UPS guy who said this was hogwash. A UPS employee was on here saying the same thing. I don't live in KY. But I have to wonder if this kind of carrier scrutiny is all over the country. I didn't talk to anyone at FedEx. But a carrier obviously turned the guy in. Was he DDing? Reselling his meds? Was it a records required place? An NROP? Cod? This Stumbo can't even spell Lortab correctly. He claims oxy is being sold online. He said nobody needs 100 Loritab (sic). He seems to be lumping every person who uses one of these services a raving junkie. Note this quote-It’s a huge safety concern for them,” he said. “Their drivers are out there carrying these packages and we have had incidents as recently as (Thursday) night where an individual looking pretty distraught – perhaps high on some substance – came in demanding his package." So someone is high on drugs because his package was lost? That's patently unfair. Does he consider a tube of Renova a punishable offense? He says the senders will face a fine but he alludes that the pain patient will be prosecuted. They DID prosecute the guy who acted odd. And I do admit he did act odd according to the carrier who reported him. But was he getting six scripts in six months from his RR OP? That's legal right now but this guy was arrested and faces state and federal charges! Not once until now have I heard of a patient getting arrested for using an OP. All I can say is I hope this guy was not playing by the rules, because if he was, he is getting the shaft here.

This stuff is getting all too nerve wracking. We were all let to believe that if you use a legit records req/phone consult place and didn't DD or divert meds, everything was legal. Well I don't think Stumbo agrees, I think it's time for me to search out a decent neuro or pain management clinic. This is getting too stressful and I feel really lucky I don't libe in KY, but this may be coming to an area near you at some point. That's just plain bone chlling.