Pubdate: Fri, 25 Feb 2005
Source: Lexington Herald-Leader (KY)
Copyright: 2005 Lexington Herald-Leader
Contact:  http://www.kentucky.com/mld/heraldleader/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/240
Author: Roger Alford

DRUG DELIVERY HALTED IN EAST KY.

FedEx Cites Dangers To Drivers

PIKEVILLE (AP) - FedEx has stopped delivering packages from online 
pharmacies to portions of Eastern Kentucky where prescription drug abuse 
has become widespread.

"We don't tolerate the use of our system for illegal purposes," said Ryan 
Furby, a spokesman for the global shipping giant based in Memphis, Tenn.

Drug dealers and abusers have increasingly turned to ordering prescriptions 
from unlicensed Internet pharmacies since law enforcement agencies began 
cracking down on local doctors, sending some to prison for prescribing 
pills without legitimate medical reasons.

The problem has become so pervasive that state legislators are pushing a 
bill aimed at regulating online sales of prescription drugs, which Attorney 
General Greg Stumbo called a cancer in Kentucky.

The legislation would make it a felony, punishable by up to 10 years in 
prison, to distribute drugs shipped into Kentucky by unlicensed Internet 
pharmacies. It also would allow authorities to seize prescriptions ordered 
from unlicensed online pharmacies.

Furby said he doesn't know when FedEx will resume deliveries in the 
portions of Eastern Kentucky hardest hit by the prescription drug epidemic. 
He said the deliveries were stopped "because of the sensitivities of where 
they're originating and the possible contents of the packages."

People who order drugs online must go to a FedEx station in London, Ky., to 
pick up their shipments in person.

"This is just an added measure that we think provides a level of safety and 
security for our employees and our customers," Furby said.

Letcher County Sheriff Danny Webb said drivers for companies like FedEx and 
UPS could have dangerous jobs in parts of Eastern Kentucky if addicts think 
they're hauling drugs from online pharmacies.

"I've had reports of at least 10 people gathered around a UPS truck picking 
up their packages," Webb said. "If a driver goes up one of these hollows 
and comes up on six or eight people who know he has drugs on there, they 
may decide to take them. There's a legitimate concern there."

Webb said his deputies arrested two people for public intoxication at the 
Ermine post office in Letcher County earlier this week while they waited 
for a delivery truck to arrive with a package from an Internet pharmacy. 
Later, officers from the Operation UNITE drug task force arrested more 
people outside a UPS facility in Perry County, where they were allegedly 
awaiting packages from online pharmacies.

"It's just a monumental problem," Webb said. "It's just every day I receive 
more complaints."

Webb said he understands why FedEx is refusing to deliver drug shipments. 
However, he said it could create a hardship on people who order drugs for 
legitimate reasons, especially if UPS follows suit.

"You've got people who get insulin and medicine that is non-narcotic," he 
said. "I just hope it doesn't hurt senior citizens about getting their 
legitimate medications."

Furby said FedEx hasn't made deliveries in some communities for the past 
two weeks.

"We want to be the most responsible shipper in the industry," he said. 
"That's why we have taken on this additional measure."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom