The Internet Has Become The Biggest Drug Dealer

Carl Lowe | Feb 05, 2013 | Comments 0

Want a cheap high for Saturday night that might kill you? The Internet has become a key player in supplying drug abusers with the medications that are sending people to hospitals in record numbers.

Online pharmacies that send you medication without a prescription are driving a rapid increase in drug abuse, according to investigators at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and the University of Southern California (USC). In a nationwide survey, they found that for every 10 percent increase in the availability of high-speed Internet service, hospital admissions for drug abuse climbed 1 percent.

“We know we face a growing problem with prescription drug abuse in the United States. One need only look at statistics for college campuses, where prescription drugs are fast replacing illegal substances, to see the magnitude of the problem,” says researcher Dana Goldman, Ph.D., director of the Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics at USC. “Our findings suggest that Internet growth may partly explain the increase in prescription drug abuse, since it is well known that these drugs are easily available online.”

Narcotic painkillers have become the most problematic medications followed by anti-anxiety drugs, stimulants and sedatives.