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Podcasts Take Two
Illegal drug sites proliferate without a 'top cop' to shut them down
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Oct 29, 2014
Listen • 9:30
Illegal drug sites proliferate without a 'top cop' to shut them down
Jeff Elder, technology reporter for the Wall Street Journal, writes that the Internet doesn't have a "top cop" governing body, and the one organization that does exist says shutting down these sites isn't within its jurisdiction.
California's Board of Pharmacy is considering requiring all pharmacies in the state to provide bilingual labels on prescription medicines.
California's Board of Pharmacy is considering requiring all pharmacies in the state to provide bilingual labels on prescription medicines.
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Basecamp Imaging/iStockphoto
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Jeff Elder, technology reporter for the Wall Street Journal, writes that the Internet doesn't have a "top cop" governing body, and the one organization that does exist says shutting down these sites isn't within its jurisdiction.

You can buy nearly anything on the Internet. But then again, not all of it is what it seems.

Case in point: several sites allow you to buy drugs without a prescription.

About 36 million Americans have gone this route even though a study shows almost two-thirds of those drugs are counterfeit or substandard.

And authorities are unable to shut those sites down.

Jeff Elder, technology reporter for the Wall Street Journal, writes that the Internet doesn't have a "top cop" governing body, and the one organization that does exist says shutting down these sites isn't within its jurisdiction.