Libby Baney Comments on Online Prescribing of Controlled Substances With Second Opinion

In an article by Second Opinion, government and regulatory partner and senior advisor to the Alliance for Safe Online Pharmacies Libby Baney discussed concerns surrounding the online prescribing of controlled substances and the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) role in enforcing legislative policy.

According to Baney, the worst-case scenario is that the DEA fails to create a special registration process before the public health emergency waiver ends and patients lose access. “Patients who need controlled substances will find a way to get treatment,” she said.

“We’ve seen this over and over again. Cutting off access to needed medicines doesn’t stop demand; it just pushes patients to alternative, riskier, gray market sources,” Baney explained. “The open, international, and mostly unregulated internet is the natural (and proven) outlet for patients looking for access to medicine,” she added.

If the DEA fails to act, Baney predicts “more Americans will start using illegal online drug sellers (via websites, social media platforms and marketplaces) to buy controlled substances” and end up untreated or worse due to bad medicines.

The full article is available to Second Opinion subscribers.