Question: what is the only major drug that is available as a natural, harvested product? If you said marijuana, you'd be right. All other drugs have to be produced or manufactured, according to the DEA's Diversion Control Program. So when chemicals are being shipped to companies that want to turn them into legitimate medicines, the DEA makes sure they actually get there and not...diverted...along the way.

And in an effort to provide transparency, the DEA Website posts the applications when pharmacies or people register to receive shipments of controlled substances. The site also shows if their applications are approved. Sorry, Lyle E. Craker, Ph.D.! His application to become a bulk manufacturer of marijuana was denied. Craker has since filed an appeal, which will be considered later this spring.

On Tuesday, the UN narcotics watchdog posted guidelines to governments on how to curb online pill pushing, as governments reported rising trends in prescription drug abuse.

According to officials at the International Narcotics Control Board , the global abuse and trafficking of prescription drugs now rivals and possibly exceeds that of cocaine, heroin and amphetamines.

Fighting the spread of prescription drug trafficking requires global collaboration between governments, said INCB Board Chief Hamid Ghodse. "Internet pharmacies can be accessed by anyone, anywhere who happens to be online. While efforts have been made at the national level, it is concerted, supportive international action that will make the difference," he said in a UN press release.

A few of the key provisions outlined in the guidelines include:

• Governments should require Internet service providers to shut down websites and domains of clients "engaged in illicit activity" as a part of their national licensing and registration process
• Internet service providers should be required by law to keep information about the identity of owners of IP addresses for at least a year.
• Wireless cafes and local area network providers should also be required to hold information on the identity of the customers using Internet services in order to assist criminal investigations.
• All packages shipped by international courier should be inspected by government officials. Governments should also make international postal services aware of the problem, and set up a process through which they can report suspicious packages.
  
• Governments should publish guidelines for doctors providing services over the internet, and policies that internet pharmacies are required to follow to ensure legitimacy.
• Governments should establish ways of sharing information on suspicious internet transactions with the governments of other countries and the INCB, to expedite international cooperation.

The FBI notes that many legitimate online pharmacies are also certified by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy, which posts a listing of legit sites on its website.

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The war against illegally prescribing online drugs scored a small victory this week.

The Colorado doctor who prescribed anti-depressants to a Stanford University student who later committed suicide pleaded guilty to practicing medicine without a license in a California court on Tuesday.

Dr. Christian Ellis Hageseth was accused of breaking the law by prescribing drugs to a patient in California, a state where he was not licensed to practice medicine.