Prescription Stimulant Sales on the Internet

Wilford, Bonnie B.; Smith, David Eugene; Bucher, Richard

doi:10.3928/00485713-20050301-07

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 4 publications

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“…Prescription stimulants are available from a variety of sources, including friends, family [16] and Internet retailers [17,18]. The 2005 NSDUH found that 7.2% of stimulant misusers obtained stimulants most recently via the Internet, with both adolescents and young adults endorsing the Internet as a stimulant source [17].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The availability and portrayal of stimulants over the Internet

Schepis¹,

Marlowe²,

Forman³

2008

PsycEXTRA Dataset

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Purpose-To quantify the online availability and portrayal of amphetamine-class prescription stimulants with a focus on those medications commonly prescribed to and abused by adolescents. Methods-The Google™ search engine was used in searches to assess the frequency of websites offering to sell controlled stimulants (retail sites) or websites that directly linked to retail sites (portal sites). Also, separate searches evaluated the portrayal of controlled prescription stimulants by the initial 20 websites returned by Google™. Retail and portal website frequency was collected for each search. For searches measuring the portrayal of stimulants, webpages were categorized as pro-abuse, anti-abuse, neutral or other, based on set criteria. Results-Sites offering to sell stimulants without a prescription were found for nearly all search terms. Across all searches, the Schedule III stimulants indicated for the treatment of obesity returned more sites offering to sell stimulants without a prescription than Schedule II stimulants indicated for the treatment of ADHD. Internet site portrayal of each stimulant varied. However, sites that contained "methamphetamine" often included anti-abuse information. Discussion-The apparent availability of stimulants over the Internet without a prescription indicates the potential for a significant public health problem. The extent to which teens are obtaining these drugs via the Internet remains unclear, but clinicians must be aware of the potential for abuse, concomitant prescription use issues, illicit sources, and diversion of these highly addictive medications. Education of consumers and physicians as well as further governmental interventions is needed to limit the potential scope of this problem.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The availability and portrayal of stimulants over the Internet

Schepis¹,

Marlowe²,

Forman³

2008

PsycEXTRA Dataset

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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The risk that neurogenetic approaches may inflate the psychiatric concept of disease and how to cope with it

Schleim¹

2008

Poiesis Prax

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Currently, there is a growing interest in combining genetic information with physiological data measured by functional neuroimaging to investigate the underpinnings of psychiatric disorders. The first part of this paper describes this trend and provides some reflections on its chances and limitations. In the second part, a thought experiment using a commonsense definition of psychiatric disorders is invoked in order to show how information from this kind of research could be used and potentially abused to ''invent'' new mental illnesses. It is then argued why an inference to the best explanation could provide an antidote to such attempts. The conclusion emphasises why normative criteria, such as those used to define disorders, cannot be derived from descriptive empirical results alone. While the etiology of some psychiatric diseases may be purely organic, there are many other cases where the psychiatric symptoms and the associated genotypes and phenotypes have an essentially and irreducibly external meaning that is derived from social and political factors. A limited perspective on the genes and brain of man carries the risk that psychiatry may increasingly treat the effects of other domains, although social and political solutions would be more appropriate.Zusammenfassung Derzeit besteht ein gesteigertes Interesse daran, genetische Informationen mit physiologischen Daten aus funktionellen bildgebenden Messungen zusammenzubringen, um den Hintergrund psychiatrischer Störungen untersuchen zu können. Der erste Teil des vorliegenden Artikels beschreibt diesen Trend und stellt Ü berlegungen zu dessen Möglichkeiten und Grenzen an. Im zweiten Teil wird ein Gedankenexperiment durchgeführt, bei dem eine aus dem Alltag entlehnte Definition psychiatrischer Störungen herangezogen wird um zu zeigen, wie Informationen aus diesem Forschungsansatz dazu ge-bzw. missbraucht werden können, neue psychische Erkrankungen zu ''erfinden''. Es wird dafür argumentiert, wie ein Schluss auf die beste Erklärung als Gegenmittel zu solchen Versuchen dienen könnte. Das Ergebnis verdeutlicht, warum normative Kriterien, wie jene, die zur Definition von Erkrankungen verwendet werden, nicht allein aus deskriptiven empirischen Ergebnissen abgeleitet werden können. Während die Ä tiologie mancher psychiatrischen Erkrankungen rein organisch sein kann, gibt es viele andere Fälle, in denen die psychiatrischen Symptome sowie die damit zusammenhängenden Genotypen und Phänotypen eine irreduzibel externe Bedeutung haben, die sich aus sozialen und politischen Faktoren ergibt. Eine eingeschränkte Perspektive auf Gen und Gehirn des Menschen birgt daher das Risiko, dass die Psychiatrie in zunehmendem Maße die Auswirkungen anderer Bereiche behandelt, obwohl hier soziale und politische Lösungen angemessener wären.Résumé De nos jours, nous observons un intérêt grandissant pour la combinaison des informations génétiques avec les données physiologiques, obtenues par la neuroimagerie fonctionnelle, afin d'étudier les fondements des désordres psychiatriques. La premièr...

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Prescription Stimulant Sales on the Internet

Cited by 2 publications

References 4 publications

The availability and portrayal of stimulants over the Internet

The availability and portrayal of stimulants over the Internet

The risk that neurogenetic approaches may inflate the psychiatric concept of disease and how to cope with it

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