The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 276 No 7405 p711
17 June 2006

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Internet a source of information for prescription drug misuse

There is a plethora of information on the internet for potential misusers of prescription drugs, and drug companies need to consider the limitations of their own products in light of this, the author of a paper on prescription drug misuse argues (Drug and Alcohol Dependence 2006; 83S:S31).

“The internet appears to be the prime source of information for misusers interested in tampering with drug formulations. A plethora of websites provide users with advice, tips, procedures and specific recipes on drug/formulation tampering,” Edward Cone, a toxicologist working at ConeChem Research in Severna Park, Maryland, says.

“Review of tampering practices offers ethical drug developers an opportunity to assess the strengths and limitations of their products in light of how recreational drug users may approach their products,” he adds.

Although many drugs are formulated to limit tampering, many of the barriers used can be overcome by adventurous misusers, Dr Cone argues. He found that tampering methods reported on the internet vary from simple manipulations, such as tablet crushing for faster drug release and for administration by other routes, to complex procedures involving extraction and purification that require considerable time and effort to accomplish.