[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 35, Number 52 (Monday, January 3, 2000)]
[Pages 2677-2678]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Statement Announcing Zero Tolerance for Prescription Drug Internet Sites 
Harmful to Patient Safety and Health

December 28, 1999

    Prescription drug sites on the Internet have given consumers new 
options to obtain needed medications, sometimes at a more affordable 
price. This industry is in its infancy, however, and rogue operators 
pose a threat

[[Page 2678]]

to the health of Americans. Today we are unveiling a proposal that sends 
a signal that we have zero tolerance for prescription drug Internet 
sites that ignore Federal and State laws and harm patient safety and 
health. Dispensing medications through the Internet without 
prescriptions or licenses must stop.