Here's a great article (for a change) on the problems legitimate medicine users face in light of increasingly harsh laws about online pharmacies....it's about DrugBuyers.com folks, and I was very pleased to see it's a positive article:

With 'NETDRUG-MARKETING'@ ¶
By J. SCOTT ORR@ ¶
c.2003 Newhouse News Service@ ¶
(UNDATED) Federal authorities see most online pharmacies as illegal
operations that allow drug abusers to circumvent legitimate channels to feed
their addictions. ¶
But to members of the online community Drugbuyers.com, these
pharmacies are lifesavers that provide narcotic relief for everything from
back pain to migraines to anxiety. ¶
Drugbuyers.com is a place where pain sufferers and drug abusers
alike share tips on the best online pharmacies, where prescription-writing
doctors are praised for their compassion, where there is no shame in
self-medicating. ¶
Typical is Karen, who was injured in a car wreck five years ago.
When after two years her doctors cut off her access to the painkiller
Vicodin, she was desperate to find a new source. ¶
"I went home that day, and contemplated suicide. I felt I couldn't
fight for the rest of my life to receive the care I need in order to live a
normal life," said Karen, who asked that her last name not be used. ¶
"That night, I went online in hopes of finding a local doctor who
could help me. I came across Drugbuyers.com. It was almost as though God
himself directed me to it. It has been a lifesaver," she said. ¶
In messages posted for their peers and in e-mail interviews, the
denizens of Drugbuyers.com proved to be an articulate and passionate group,
bound by their quest for the relief federally controlled medicines bring
them. They also share a raging resentment that traditional avenues of
procuring prescription drugs have been closed to them for reasons they
cannot abide. ¶
There is palpable indignation among the chronic pain sufferers at
Drugbuyers.com about doctors who refuse to prescribe narcotics even to
patients who can prove legitimate need. They blame the federal government
and its "war on drugs" for scaring doctors away from their prescription
pads. ¶
"Some of the people here have no choice and depend entirely on the
online pharmacies for all their pain meds, without which they either could
not function or have any quality to their lives whatsoever," a
Drugbuyers.com member named Folksong wrote in an e-mail. ¶
"I guess my point is this: If doctors would take the time to listen
to their patients and educate themselves about chronic pain - in short, do
their job - the online pharmacies would not be such an issue," he added.
¶
Alex Marlin, who started Drugbuyers.com about five years ago, said
that the name of his site might give some people the wrong idea about what
goes on there: "It is a name that makes people think our site is about
'drugs.' ... It is about drugs, but it is about prescription drugs."
¶
Marlin said he created Drugbuyers.com because he felt for chronic
pain sufferers who had difficulty in getting their pills through traditional
sources. The site is paid for through advertising and subscription fees from
"VIP members," who then qualify for discounts on drugs from participating
online pharmacies. ¶
People who admit to abuse or recreational use of drugs are banned
from Drugbuyers.com, Marlin said, though many posts have only slightly
veiled references to the more pleasurable side effects of painkilling drugs.
¶
And the references to drug abuse on Drugbuyers.com are mild compared
to those at other sites, like bluelight.nu, that are devoted to discussions
of illegal drug abuse and sharing strategies for getting high. ¶
It is the unvarnished advice about online drug buying that attracts
thousands of people to Drugbuyers.com every day. ¶
People like Cindy, a 44-year-old nurse from Phoenix who says her
body resembles a "road map" of scars left after "six back surgeries, three
of them spinal fusions with various hardware added." ¶
"I am without a doubt hopelessly addicted to the narcotics," said
Cindy, who also declined to give her last name. But she credits these drugs
with enhancing, not degrading, her quality of life. If she must be an addict
for the rest of her life, so be it. ¶
"I function quite well taking the quantities I take. I do not take
more than I need and I now work an average of 50 to 60 hours a week. ... I
can clean my house, wash my car, garden, hike, do all the things I used to
do. ¶
"I'm very fortunate ... but so many of the people here (at
Drugbuyers.com) are desperate for help," Cindy said. She insisted that the
site is devoted to people like her who are suffering legitimate pain, not
"addicts, looking to get high." ¶
JL END ORR ¶
(J. Scott Orr can be contacted at scott.orr(at)newhouse.com.)
¶
NYT-12-03-03 1644EST ?