BUSINESSWEEK ONLINE : FEBRUARY 7, 2000 ISSUE
LEGAL AFFAIRS Dubious Medicine On scores of Web sites, consumers can order prescription drugs by doing little more than giving a credit-card number WASHINGTON The FDA is investigating 100 sites and planning an assault later this year. Meanwhile, the White House is pushing for legislation authorizing the agency to levy fines of up to $500,000 against rogue operations. STATES Attorneys general in Illinois, Kansas, and Missouri have targeted a handful of online pharmacies. But while the enforcers have won some small victories, prosecuting the sites has been harder than expected. MEDICAL AUTHORITIES The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy has developed a certification program to bless sites that require a valid prescription. Four seals of approval have recently been issued. DATA: BUSINESS WEEK _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _					RELATED ITEMS A Crackdown on E-Druggists TABLE: Dubious Medicine Drugmakers: Could a Mouse Click Drag Them into Court? INTERACT E-Mail to Business Week Online

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