The President of the United States, Mr Bill Clinton, is to ask the American congress for new laws to regulate the growing sale of prescription medicines over the internet, according to a report in the British Medical Journal of January 8.
Under Mr Clinton's proposals, online drug stores would be required to obtain approval from the Food and Drug Administration. They would also have to comply with state regulations controlling the practice of medicine and pharmacy.
The proposal would create civil penalties of up to $500,000 (£312,000) for the offence of selling a prescription medicine to an individual without a valid prescription or for operating an internet drug store without federal certification.
Mr Clinton also plans to seek a budget of $10m to finance the investigation of websites suspected of illegally supplying prescription medicines. More than 200 websites are already under investigation by the FDA for allegedly selling unlicensed medicines or selling licensed medicines without valid prescriptions.
A recent study by the University of Pennsylvania found 86 websites selling sildenafil (Viagra) without requiring a medical consultation or a prescription.