Seniors buying drugs on the Internet need to exercise extreme caution. Recent media reports highlight the dangers of buying drugs from Internet “pharmacies.” Many are outright fakes and part of elaborate on-shore and off-shore scam operations bilking people and endangering lives.

In fact, on March 21, 2007 a coroner warned the public about the danger of buying drugs over the Internet after the death of a Vancouver Island woman. CTV reported that toxicology reports confirmed that the pills appear to have killed Marcia Bergeron, 57, believed to be a U.S. resident, who lived in the Campbell River area of British Columbia for part of the year.

The woman bought a sedative not legally sold in Canada; the sedative has been linked to overdose deaths abroad. She also purchased an anti-anxiety medication that’s for sale in Canada only with a doctor’s prescription, said Regional Coroner Rose Stanton. The coroner added: “in the days prior to her death, she was suffering from hair loss and vision problems and they are symptoms of poisoning.”

Some of the pills also had dangerous mineral traces that can pose a serious health risk, including uranium, strontium, arsenic and lead.

Representatives of online pharmacies say there are legitimate online drug stores that sell real pharmaceuticals at low cost. Karen Wolfe, National Association of Pharmacy Regulatory Authorities, encouraged the public to check the site’s credentials before keying in their credit card number. If you know that the pharmacy is licensed in the province, you can call the College of Pharmacists in the province that the pharmacy is licensed in to determine that it in fact is a true pharmacy, she said.

The bottom line for anyone, especially U.S. and Canadian seniors, is to double check the authenticity of any Internet-based pharmacy and to never buy drugs without a legitimate prescription from a health care professional. Your life could depend on it.

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Pat Moauro is a former veteran journalist, and currently a writer and editor who specializes in seniors’ issues. For more articles, check his website at maxxseniorslife.com