A California state senator has joined Ventura County law enforcement agencies to ask the classified ad website Craigslist to ban ads selling pharmaceuticals without a prescription.
Police report a rise in overdoses of painkillers like Oxycontin and Vicodin, and they’re discovering that access to the drugs can be just a mouse click away.
“We’re finding out that it is doctors and physicians who are providing large quantities of these pills to these drug dealers, who are putting them on Craigslist,” Capt. Don Aguilar of the Ventura County Sheriff's Department said.
Craigslist did not respond. State Sen. Ted Lieu said if the company doesn’t ban the ads, he’ll look into options like suing to force action.
“We’ve also asked our legislative counsel to see if Craigslist can in fact be prosecuted for being a participant in these drug transactions,” Lieu said.
A Nevada lawmaker is pursuing similar options. A few years ago Craigslist did shut down a section of its site that had been used to solicit prostitution.
