"Will the Ryan Haight Act Curb Prescription Drug Abuse?"

Jessica Gerlemann
Professor Harrelll
En 1333
23 November 2010

The Ryan Haight Act Only Curbs Some Prescription Drug Abuse

Section I:
There is a debate on what to do about the growing problems of prescription drug abuse. The problem at present is that the act is not combating all sources. It is only becoming more and more complex and prevalent. There are several advantages and disadvantages to the act that they are proposing to fix the problem. That is the Ryan Haight Act. Joseph T. Rannazzisi, Deputy Assistant Administrator from the drug enforcement administration claims it will. In contrast, Patrick J. Egan believes it will not curb prescription drug abuse.
The advantages of the act is the fact that it updates the controlled substances act to set forth both permissible and impermissible conduct for internet web site operators. This legislation balances the legitimate benefits derived from using the internet to provide consumers with controlled substances obtained through valid prescriptions with the need to combat illegal online distribution of these same drugs. Schedule III and IV medications are often illegally purchased through the internet. That is anti-anxiety medications and hydrocodone operations. The internet has become one of the fastest growing methods of diverting controlled pharmaceuticals. The controlled-substance laws and regulations were written before the advancement of fax machines and online pharmacies. (Press)
The disadvantages of the act are large and many. By criminalizing the sale of controlled substances without a valid prescription by online pharmacies, the Ryan Haight Act fails to attack the source of prescription drug abuse. Drug users have normally multiple suprerior sources to acquire medication and if it is in their means will do so. In 2006, 17.4% of the 17-year old population had used pain relievers for non-medical use. In addition to pain medication, diet pills are commonly purchased through online pharmacies. Most majority of pills are given to users from friends or relatives. The minor impact of requiring online pharmacies to only distribute controlled substances with a valid prescription would not be attacking the source of non-medical use of pain relievers. The benefit to low-income Americans and elderly Americans of having the ability to purchase prescription medication from online pharmacies outweighs the risks of adults and teens purchasing pain medication from online pharmacies. (Press)
Section II:
There is quite a remarkable history of the start of drug abuse. Particularly, prescription drug abuse didn’t start until the 1890s where “five Americans in 1000 are addicts. From the 1800s-1909 addiction to opium and cocaine-based medications swells across social classes. In 1840 less than one American in 1000 was addicted to drugs. In 1887 Oregon banned the selling of cocaine without a prescription. In 1909 the First International Opium Conference was held in Shanghai, China, amid growing worldwide concern. From the 1910s-1980s Illegal drug use overtook prescription drug abuse as a cause of addiction. In 1914 Congress passes Harrison Narcotics Tax Act, requiring all prescribers, sellers and handlers of opium and cocaine based drugs to register and pay a tax. 1919 and the Supreme Court bans physicians from prescribing narcotics as maintenance drugs to help addicts avoid withdrawal pain. 1937 and prescription amphetamines in tablet form are sold to treat narcolepsy and attention problems. 1960 and Doctors begin prescribing stimulant Ritalin for attention deficit disorder. 1970 and Doctors begin prescribing stimulant Ritalin for attention deficit disorder. Substance abuse begins rising after a long decades end. Nonprescription web sites selling controlled substances emerges in the 1990s. In 1995 prescription of stimulants like Ritalin soar, with 2 million American children taking the drug for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. In 1996 use of OxyContin, a time release form of the opiate painkiller oxycodone that is easily abused, spreads among substance abusers, especially in rural areas. 1999 and Veterans’ Affairs health facilities began monitoring patients for excessive pain following reports physicians aren’t treating pain aggressively for fear of prosecution. In the 2000s there were more overdose deaths involving prescription drugs than illegal drugs. Anti-drug programs focus on prescription drug abuse. National Institute on Drug Abuse launches research program on prescription drugs in 2001. In 2003 Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh admits he became addicted to painkillers when suffering from back pain and enters treatment. By 2005 Congress passes National All Schedules Prescription Reporting Act to establish or improve prescription monitoring programs in all states but doesn’t fund the effort until 2009. 2006 Limbaugh pleads “not guilty” to doctor shopping to obtain painkiller prescriptions and agrees to undergo random drug testing. Up to 20 percent of college students may use ADHD stimulant drugs to get high or to stay awake. In 2007 model and sex symbol Anna Nicole Smith, 39, dies of an overdose of multiple prescription drugs she obtained from her personal physicians. Australian actor Heath Ledger, 28, dies in New York after accidentally overdosing on prescription drugs, including sleeping pills and Congress passes the Ryan Haight Act requiring online pharmacies to comply with state prescribing rules and post contact information online. In 2009 Pop singer Michael Jackson, 50, dies from prescription drug overdose. Officials label his death a homicide and begin investigating his personal physician. The Ryan Haight Act goes into effect. Musician and disk jockey DJ Adam Goldstein dies of an overdose of multiple prescription drugs. Washington state suspended the prescription monitoring program due to budget cuts. Court papers reveal a pharmacist refused to fill prescriptions for model Smith, dubbing it ‘pharmaceutical suicide.’” (Press)
Section III:
Matters of concern from people beg the question, “Is enough being done to combat medication abuse?” This question is actually the motivation of the government to shut down enterprises such as internet pharmacies that facilitate abuse. Although, some analysts say the problem really dwarfs the programs that combat it. For instance, Michael Jackson, Heath Ledger and Anna Nicole Smith all died of prescription drug medication overdose. Although situations were different from each celebrity the cause of their death is the same.
It is hard to change people’s attitude about the dangers of prescription drugs because they dub them safer. In addition, celebrities often get away with prescription drug abuse. Michael Jackson’s accidental death in June 2009 made the news worldwide. Jackson’s overdose was from prescription sedatives that were given to him by his physician. He was injected with a lethal dose of propofol, a hospital anesthetic given to Jackson as a sleep aid. Manslaughter charges may be ultimately charged against Jackson’s physician who is responsible for giving him the lethal dose.
Anna Nicole Smith in February of 2007 dominated the gossip among media for months. Smith died from a lethal combination of drugs prescribed by her physicians. Last month, court documents revealed that at least one pharmacist refused to sell prescribed drugs to her. The situation was therefore deemed “pharmaceutical suicide.” A lot of times the problem among celebrities is that they have enough money to keep buying the prescription medications.
Last but not least, Heath Ledger was 3rd as one of the victims. In addition, there was one more victim in which was Adam Goldstein. All these celebrities were involved in prescription drug abuse and ending up dying. Deaths from unintentional drug overdoses have increased steadily since the early 1970s. This is a remarkable outrage that celebrities such as these got away with something that was doing them physical harm.
Rates of death from overdose of drugs are currently four to five times higher than that of the ‘black tar’ heroin epidemic in the mid 1970s and more than twice what they were during the peak years of crack cocaine in the 1990s,” said Paulozzi. For the first time, more people in the 45-54 age group now die of drug overdoses than from traffic crashes. Deaths from unintentional drug overdoses have increased steadily. As of summer 2009, 40 state legislatures authorized some kind of monitoring program for prescription drugs.
“Doctors and nurses just turn off information about the dangers of prescription drug abuse,” says Bryan Liang, a professor at the California Western School of Law in San Diego. In addition, he says that when patients overdose, “doctors just treat them, give them the antidote for the acute problem” and “think they’ve done their job.” It is not surprising that the manufacturers of drugs haven’t been proactive about developing drugs that are less easily abusable, says Marvin P. Seppala, chief medical officer of the Hazelden Foundation. (Addiction Treatment Facility in Center City, Minn.)
In addition, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Department of Justice is said to overreach on prescription-narcotics control. John P. Flannery, federal drug prosecutor turned private practice attorney, told a subcommittee this in 2007. In 1975 the Supreme Court a declared physicians had to act outside the course of professional medical practice with intent to act as a drug pusher to warrant prosecution under the controlled substances act. The DEA however has reneged on the agreement in the 1990s with the FDA and medical professional societies clearing the way for aggressive pain treatment and giving doctors and DEA agent’s clear, consistent guidelines on what was and what was not allowed. As a result of this, general searchs of private patients records began to take place all over the country. Physician’s assets were seized prior to trial and physician after physician went down on drug trafficking conventions. Reynolds says, “only a few tiny plain clinics were left around the country while doctors were left in fear and patients in pain.”
Section IV:
The Ryan Haight Act will not curb prescription drug abuse. My fear is that the Ryan Haight Act won’t attack the central problem. In fact, there is a downside that is not being thought about. The Ryan Haight Act will just take medicare privileges away from individuals who need the cheaper online pharmacies. Elderly people’s access to cheaper medication will be inhibited.
According to Joseph T. Rannazzisi the Ryan Haight Act will cut down prescription drug abuse at a large scale. Leader of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Rannazzisi believes that setting permissible and impermissible conduct. The DEA is doing this in hopes of making it harder to purchase the prescription drugs cheaply without a prescription is the idea to largely cut down on abuse. This has proven somewhat effective. Yet, there are other aspects that should outweigh the advantages of buying prescription drugs online.
Section V:
Activists who are for the act believe it will curb prescription drug abuse. In effect, it has cut down on the number of prescription drugs that are bought online. Yet, it has many downsides. First of all, being the fact that it is not as easy for the elderly and other needy individuals to be able to buy their prescription drugs at a cheaper rate. Second, the prescription drug abuse that occurs through families and friends is being largely overlooked. Some type of programs are needed to educate against the prescription drug abuse explaining that it is not safer than taking illegal drugs because an individual can still overdose on prescription drugs too. Although, there has been a considerable cut down on hydrocodone, oxycontin and vicodin; it is my belief that it will not take effect on the individuals who will do anything they can to purchase or obtain the prescription drugs they are already addicted to. For instance, young girls still abuse prescription pain relievers. Also, celebrities are able to still easily acquire such prescriptions by going to other sources besides online pharmaceutical stores. If it is in an individuals grasp to do so then they will. In addition, there are some doctors and physicians who overly push prescription drugs and cause their patients to become addicted to them. It is also known that for some reason it seems these doctors are undereducated about the possible problems with too may prescription doses or overdoses. Some dinosaur doctors prescribe way too many prescription pills and believe that a practical overdose is necessary to heal or take care of an individual.
The opposing view by Rannazzisi who is for the enactment of the prescription drug Ryan Haight Act explains that most of the activity is by prescription drug abusers who are abusing through online stores. Now there are some pharmacies to combat drugs keep track of the amount of a certain drug that is bought such as pseudoephedrine although it is normally used for making illegal drugs. Now there is a more effective system to catch drug abusers in general. Despite the act that actually went into enforcement because of the problem of prescription drug abusers there are still some sources that are being overlooked. Rannazzisi says that the majority of drugs are being bought through online stores. Although that is true, it is not combating the overall sources of many of the problems and there are a few perspectives that aren’t being considered such as the acquirement of prescription drugs through friends or family members.
Section VI:
Rannazzisi says that the act updates the controlled substances act. This act is to set forth both permissible and impermissible conduct for internet web site operators. He also quote and says in his second reason that this legislation balances the legitimate benefits derived from using the internet to provide consumers with controlled substances obtained through valid prescriptions. He says this should be done with the need to combat illegal online distribution of these same drugs.
I think that updating the controlled substances act isn’t as important as enforcing it. Although it costs a considerable amount of money our laws need to be executed and the penalty for abusing prescription drugs should be the same as abusing illegal drugs. The abuse of prescription drugs is a large issue. This is just a few of the sources of online prescription drug abuse. There is more that needs to be done. By criminalizing the sale of controlled substances without a valid prescription by online pharmacies, the Ryan Haight Act fails to attact the source of prescription drug abuses. Drug users have normally multiple superior sources to acquire medication. If it is in their means they will find it and acquire it.
Rannazzisi says that schedule III and IV medications are often illegally purchased through the internet. That is anxiety medications and hydrocodone operations. The internet has become one of the fastest growing methods of diverting controlled pharmaceuticals. The DEA is for it and thinks that most of the blame is the internet and not the drugs.
The internet is not the blame. Drugs are and the drug enforcement administration isn’t going to say a thing against it because the attack would effect their drug selling business. The risk is just too much for them to allow so they doubly encourage doctors to use a variety of drugs and the doctors aren’t well informed about the risks of addiction that comes along with quite a few side effects. In 2006, 17.4% of the 17 year old population had used pain relievers for non-medical use. In addition to pain meds the diet pills were being used and are on the rise. The minor impact of requiring online pharmacies to only distribute controlled substances with a valid prescription still DOES NOT ATTACK THE SOURCE.
The controlled-substance laws and regulations were written before the advancement of fax machines and online pharmacies. There may be laws and regulations that are out of order. Online pharmacies had found an advantage but now it has been taken too far and people are finding it a little too convenient so something needs to be done. Regulating online pharmacies and cutting down on the amount of prescription drugs sold online can be the only right move. Internet is the majority of the problem.
If the controlled substance laws and regulations were written before the advancement of fax machines and online pharmacies then they probably need to be revised. The internet is just one of the advancements that grew with another source that at first was quite an adequate advantage. Advantages of internet pharmacies shouldn’t be closed off to people who don’t abuse prescription medications. It should be closed to only those who do abuse prescription drug medications. The internet is not too blame it is the people who are becoming addicted thanks to doctors pushing medication so much. Prescription medication should not be used unless there is a need for it in the body at the time. That way our immune systems aren’t ruined or too dependent on drugs. How is our bodies able to fight anything off?
Section VII:
The Ryan Haight Act will not curb prescription drug abuse. If someone wants to abuse prescription drugs because they are addicted to them they will find a source or another doctor who solely believes in pushing the drugs even with the repercussions. “The DEA made an agreement in the 1990s with the FDA and medical professional societies clearing the way for aggressive pain treatment and giving doctors and DEA agents clear, consistent guidelines on what was and was not allowable, Reynolds said, founder of the advocacy group Pain Relief Network.”
Internet is not the blame for people being prescription drug abusers. The drug enforcement administration needs to learn to have a correct balance for the amount of drugs that should be used instead of pushing doctors and physicians to push pills and prescribe them sometimes when they are hardly needed. There is a proper time to use medication and it is when the body needs that extra aid. Our body has natural antibodies that should fight most stuff off for us. “Numerous ‘patent medicines’ were advertised as treatment for ills ranging from consumption to coughs and diarrhea, and some narcotic medicines were even sold in the form of ‘soothing syrups,’ intended for teething babies, along with cocaine toothache drops for children and cocaine-containing lozenges for sore throats. ‘Careless prescription, incessant dispensation and hidden distribution of harmful drugs-the addictive effects of which were unknown until too late- fostered a large addict population continued to increase in the 20th century.”
Section VIII:
Truly the internet is not to blame for prescription drug abusers. The internet was supposed to be used as a privilege and now its advantages are becoming a disadvantage to those who don’t abuse prescription drugs at all. It’s a shame that people have to ruin advantages for other people. Also, a large problem lies within pill pushing that doctors and physicians are taught as part of their job. Some physicians loyally back the DEA and don’t look at the effect on their patients. It’s people’s attitude that is a problem. It’s said to see that its killed our celebrities and even affected our friends and families. The abuse is wrong and a educative program needs to advertise against it!