From...

June 15, 1999
Web posted at: 2:12 p.m. EDT (1812 GMT)

by Stacy Collett

(IDG) -- Kansas officials have sued seven online pharmacies for allegedly selling prescription medications to a minor without involving a physician.

During a sting operation, a 16-year-old was able to buy Viagra and the diet drugs Meridia and Phentermine, which are controlled substances, online, according to Kelli Benintendi, assistant attorney general in the consumer protection division.

"[The minor] filled out an online application -- date of birth, answered a few medical questions that were optional and credit-card information and sent

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it to the company. When our 16-year-old put his true date of birth and got the drugs, it became apparent that a doctor probably wasn't looking at that," Benintendi said. Some online drug sellers charge $50 to $75 as a "physician consultation fee" when applications are reviewed by a doctor.

In other cases, six doctors reviewing online applications weren't licensed by the state, and three pharmacies weren't registered with the Kansas Board of Pharmacy.

The state attorney general's office filed consumer protection lawsuits against the online operations in District Court in Topeka.

The court issued temporary injunctions for the companies, DVM Enterprises Inc., Home Prescription Services Inc., Confimed LLC, Focus Medical Group Inc., Senior Care Pharmacy Inc., ViaPro Inc. and Stivercorp to stop selling prescriptions in Kansas, according to the attorney general's office. However, some injunctions haven't been served because several companies use post office box addresses.

If found liable, the companies could face penalties of $5,000 to $10,000 per violation. Kansas has no plans yet for state laws to regulate online drug sales, Benintendi said.