Buyer Beware

Would you buy prescription drugs from a shady-looking stranger on the subway? Probably not. So why do the same thing online? Consumers who thought they were purchasing sleep aids, antidepressants and other drugs over the Internet instead were shipped a powerful antipsychotic, sending some unwitting victims to the emergency room, federal health officials warned yesterday. […]

Would you buy prescription drugs from a shady-looking stranger on the subway? Probably not. So why do the same thing online?

Consumers who thought they were purchasing sleep aids, antidepressants and other drugs over the Internet instead were shipped a powerful antipsychotic, sending some unwitting victims to the emergency room, federal health officials warned yesterday.

The Food and Drug Administration said a number of consumers took the schizophrenia drug haloperidol after ordering other pills, including Ambien, a sleep aid, and the anxiety medications Xanax and Ativan. Others thought they were getting the antidepressant Lexapro.

Wrong Pills Shipped to Online Drug Buyers [Washington Post]