Online Pharmacies Sued

August 29, 2000

In early August, a suit against three online pharmacies was issued by the Texas Attorney General. ExpressMed, MedPrescribe, and 2UNetmail alleging violating the Texas Deceptive Trade and Practices Act. The three companies are charged with filling prescription orders without a prescription or an online consultation by a physician.

The suit asserts that the steps involved with getting a prescription from any one of these companies includes providing a credit card, brief personal information, and choosing a medication and dosage. Once this online form is completed the order is processed and the Texas consumer is issued his medications. If true, this is a blatant violation of the law not only for the reason that it is the dispensing of a medication without a prescription, but also because it is misleading to its consumers. According to the allegations by the Attorney General’s office the consumers are procuring medications based on their own guesstimate and are not informed of the risks and hazards associated with the medications.