Google has agreed to forfeit $500 million generated from Canadian pharmacies targeting US customers through its AdWords program, the US Department of Justice announced today. The money represents revenue received by Google from the pharmacies as well as from unlawful sales made by the pharmacies to customers in the US.

Generally, it is illegal for pharmacies "to ship controlled and non-controlled prescription drugs into the United States from Canada," the DOJ states. Google acknowledged this as early as 2003, and yet allowed Canadian pharmacies to entice US customers to buy prescription drugs from their sites via AdWords advertising.

Transactions like these, with rare exception, violate the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act because the shipped drugs are not FDA-approved. The problem is compounded by the fact that Canadian pharmacies shipping drugs to the US aren't even subject to Canadian regulations, so the pharmacies can sell drugs from countries other than Canada that meet neither Canada's regulations, nor the FDA's.

Google even provided customer support to the Canadian pharmacies, advising them on how to effectively place their AdWords ads. The company is now taking responsibility for the prescription drug rabbit hole it dug, and will forfeit a total of $500 million to cover both its own and the pharmacies' offenses.