Online pharmacy bill passage protects legitimate sellers from illegal infringement

ALEXANDRIA, Va. The House of Representatives’ passage on Tuesday of H.R. 6353, the Ryan Haight Online Pharmacy Consumer Protection Act of 2008 won praise from the National Association of Chain Drug Stores.

“There is a growing number of Web sites that masquerade as legitimate pharmacies, luring consumers into schemes to obtain medications without a prescription or valid patient-prescriber relationship,” NACDS said in the statement. “These ‘rogue’ Web sites threaten the health and safety of consumers. H.R. 6353 would establish effective policies to curb these Web sites and to prevent them from selling controlled substances.” 

“NACDS members operate legitimate, state-licensed pharmacies, many of which have an associated and branded Internet Web site that offers customers the convenience of contacting their pharmacy via the Internet for medication and healthcare needs,” the statement continued. “H.R. 6353 recognizes these legitimate operations and would not interfere with the important services and products that our members offer online.”