It was contained in a country review of The Bahamas’ drug control mechanisms that was released recently.
CICAD said the country has not provided sufficient data on regulations or specific mechanisms in place to prevent and control the illicit trafficking of the products via the Internet making it impossible to complete a thorough review.
The commission has advised the government in its report on The Bahamas to develop a system to ensure efficient compliance, expand the range of training courses offered and enact the relevant legislation.
They also urged the government to conduct research and training activities related to the prevention and control of trafficking in this area and other drugs over the Internet which would "enable the country to identify its regulatory and operative needs."
In the past, the concern about the use of online pharmacies was that it was difficult to ensure that the products accessed were authentic pre scri ption drugs.
The Attorney General’s office was last year reviewing the draft Pharmacy Act which contained a recommendation to ban Internet pharmacies, some of which sell everything from painkillers to weight reducing tablets and tranquilizers.
The move came after a number of online pharmacies started catering to the Bahamian market, offering a growing list of drugs like Viagra, Levitra, Vioxx and Imitrex.
. Marvin Smith, who held the position as the country’s representative at the Caribbean Association of Pharmacists told the Bahama Journal in an earlier interview that there were considerable problems with online pharmacies.
"While technology has allowed us to do things a lot more quickly and efficiently, the practice of pharmacy is really so important to the patient – not just in terms of the product, but the information and relationship patients have with their pharmacists," he explained.
"You can be filling a pre scri ption on-line and you’re not really sure of where you’re getting the product from and who is actually dispensing, whether it’s a certified pharmacist. People can put anything on-line."
The trafficking of chemical substances was also a matter of concern.
CICAD officials also noted in their report that The Bahamas does not have sufficient data on the trafficking of chemical substances.
They called for the development of a system to ensure effective compliance with standards and regulations for preventing the diversion of controlled chemical substances, a recommendation that they had made earlier.
The report on The Bahamas’ drug controls was one of 34 presented to the Organization of American States [OAS] last week.
In the report officials also examined treatment options for drug abusers.
The country has one outpatient and one residential public drug treatment facility for males and females of all ages. There are five private residential operations for males only, one public detoxification service along with a host of other rehabilitation, private treatment, self help and intervention services.
"CICAD notes the efforts made by the country in offering drug treatment and rehabilitation services to the general public, specifically for women and adolescents," the report says.
"CICAD views with concern that there are no guidelines or regulations on minimum standards of care for drug abuse treatment."
The Government Expert Group [GEP] actually carried out the review which is supposed to be based on transparency, impartiality and equality.
