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Testimony before the U.S. Senate
Statement of Hon. Arlen Specter, U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania
U.S.
Senate Committee on the Judiciary
May
16, 2008
Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for scheduling this important hearing. The
problem of drug addiction has been with our society for decades. I
first saw it in an intense fashion when I was district attorney of
Philadelphia four decades ago, and the problem has been increasing
in seriousness and is a major problem in our society.
With the Internet
and technological advances, we now find that drugs are accessible
by the rogue pharmacies, and the problem is one of enormous importance.
It came into sharp view in Philadelphia in 2006 when there was a
DEA bust of a major Internet drug ring run from Philadelphia by
two foreign graduate students at Temple University and 25 co-conspirators
who were arrested in four different countries.
It is possible
to have legitimate purchase of drugs over the Internet, but there
were only 12 such DEA registered pharmacies. Most of the other Internet
pharmaceutical sales in the United States are legally suspect. Federal
law mandates that there is a prescription before dispensing the
drugs, which we all know, but that is avoided. The Center on Addiction
and Substance Abuse discovered over 3 years the total number of
websites been selling prescription drugs has increased enormously.
The regulation of online pharmacies and doctors consists of a very
patchwork arrangement so that it is the subject which requires,
I do believe, Federal legislation, so I am glad to see such a distinguished
panel here today.
We very much
appreciate your presence, Mrs. Haight, with the situation that your
son, Ryan Thomas Haight, died of an overdose of narcotics he had
purchased on the Internet without a prescription. We have a very
distinguished array of experts, and, regrettably, we are not going
to have a very extensive array of Senators—not necessarily
distinguished even when present, except for Senator Leahy and Senator
Sessions. But it is a very, very busy day on Capitol Hill.
I am going to
have to excuse myself to return to deliberations which are underway
on the immigration issue. We have had more than two dozen meetings
of lengthy duration, mostly in excess of 2 hours, where 12 Senators
sit still—that is, we sit still; our jaws are not still—as
we try to work through an extraordinarily difficult legislative
issue.
Then that is
compounded by the problem that we are having a series of votes at
10:30, and votes come ahead of everything else. That is our basic
paycheck in the United States Senate, what our voting record is.
But I have staff here who will be following the proceedings very
closely, and I am sorry to miss the testimony, because this is an
extraordinarily distinguished panel. Chairman LEAHY. During this,
as the votes start, we will stop and start. Some of you are familiar
with that. Senator Sessions has worked hard on this. Jeff, did you
want to say anything?
Senator Sessions.
If you do not mind, Mr. Chairman.
Chairman Leahy.
Go ahead.
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