The U.S. Food and Drug Administration wants to regulate online sales of prescription drugs. Online drugstores would have to make sure buyers have valid prescriptions and, if the FDA gets its way, would ultimately have to register with the federal government. Pharmacies currently are licensed by the states in which they are located, but virtual drugstores don't fit that framework. THE PROS Harm associated with Internet drug sales has not been measured, but a number of concerns surfaced at congressional hearings last summer.
Few sites obtain licenses to sell drugs in the states where their customers reside.
Fears also were expressed about the quality and the safety of the substances being sold. The pharmacies can disappear from the Web quickly and avoid investigations, perhaps resurfacing under different names. Self-regulation, critics say, will not work. The move surely will generate opposition from those who note that the dynamism of the Internet depends on its freedom from external regulation. The FDA's move could be seen as part of a slippery slope toward bringing other Web sectors under governmental control.