The problem with ordering prescription drugs from online pharmacies, is that you have no idea what you’re getting. Just ask the woman from this recent CNN Health article.

“Every night before her husband went to bed, he would open a prescription bottle of the muscle relaxant Soma and swallow the eight or nine pills it took for him to fall asleep, said the woman.”

The truth of the matter is, there are no shortage of online pharmacies out there from which to order. So the question becomes, what drives people to order from them? Do we need to make certain drugs more accessible here in the United States, or will that only exacerbate the existing problem? It almost seems like it would be better to take these drugs under the supervision of a doctor, even if they are habit-forming - especially if people can just get their hands on them elsewhere.

It’s just so easy for people to learn about various drugs from sites like rxlist.com and webmd.com and the go order those drugs from foreign pharmacies. And while U.S. Customs does what it can to control the influx of illegal prescription drug orders, the sheer volume is simply overwhelming. I’m not sure what the solution is, but there is no question that people are engaging in risky behavior when they are ordering online. There is no guarantee that you are even getting the drug that you think you are getting, and you don’t have a doctor to supervise any potential negative reactions or bad drug interactions. And yet, despite these glaring risks, people order online 24 hours a day, seven days a week.