Attorney General's News Release

November 29, 1999

Nixon obtains order to stop illegal Internet prescribing and sale of drugs by second online clinic and pharmacy

Kansas City, Mo. —Attorney General Jay Nixon today obtained a permanent injunction to stop an online clinic and other defendants from using the Internet to illegally sell prescription drugs, including Viagra, to Missourians. The defendants also will pay a total of $15,000 in civil penalties as part of the court-approved injunction.

The injunction is the result of a lawsuit filed by Nixon in August against the Procare Clinic for Men, clinic owner Kenneth N. Miles, Piney Point Pharmacy and physician Danny Ray Johnson for violating state law by providing prescription drugs to Missouri consumers without a license and on the basis of information provided in online consultations. All the defendants are based in the Houston, Texas area.

A female investigator from the Attorney General's Office obtained an online medical consultation and prescription for Viagra from Johnson, who is not licensed to practice medicine in Missouri, and had the order filled by the other defendants including Piney Point Pharmacy, which does not have a pharmacy license in Missouri.

The permanent injunction prevents the defendants from filling or shipping prescriptions to Missourians unless or until they obtain all required licenses from the Missouri Board of Pharmacy; even if they obtain those licenses, they face several other requirements to fill prescriptions to Missourians. The court order also prohibits defendant Johnson from treating Missourians without being licensed by the state Board of Healing Arts.

The website operated by the defendants also must prominently display a notice advising consumers that the prescription service is not available to Missouri residents. The order, signed today by Jackson County Circuit Court Judge J.D. Williamson Jr., provides for penalties of up to $5,000 for any violation of the injunction by the defendants.

The injunction is the second court order in five weeks that Nixon has obtained against an Internet pharmacy based in Texas. Last month, a San Antonio pharmacy operator was ordered to stop illegal dispensing of prescription drugs over his website, www.thepillbox.com, and also was required to pay $15,000 in penalties to Missouri.

Inquiries from consumers should be directed to consumer@ago.mo.gov or 1-800-392-8222 (from within Missouri) or 573-751-3321 (outside Missouri).

All media inquiries should be directed to Press Secretary John Fougere.

E-mail      Phone: 573-751-8844         Fax: 573-751-5818