Louisiana may reclassify drugs used in abortion as controlled dangerous substances

fooferdoggie

fooferdoggie

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The bill moving through the Louisiana legislature would list both medications as Schedule IV drugs under the state's Uniform Controlled Dangerous Substances Law, creating penalties of up to 10 years in prison for anyone caught with the drugs without a valid prescription.

It's the latest move by anti-abortion advocates trying to control access to abortion medications in states with near-total abortion bans, such as Louisiana. If passed, the law would be the first of its kind, opening up a new front in the state-by-state battle over reproductive medicine
 
Whoever wrote this bill is an idiot who clearly has zero knowledge pharmaceutical law.

“Scheduled” drugs primarily relates to a drug’s potential for abuse and dependency specifically. Secondarily, it indicates the medical utility of the drug. Schedule I drugs have a high risk of dependency and abuse but are legally considered to have no medical use- this would include LSD, heroin, marijuana (until several days ago). Schedule II to V are medications (drugs accepted for medical use) II with the highest risk for addiction and dependency. II includes most opioids and stimulants. III includes anabolic steroids, ketamine. IV includes Benzodiazepines like Xanax, Valium. V is a a weird class of mostly low dose opioids used for coughs or diarrhea… and Lyrica.

I must have missed that has Mifepristone has addictive, psychotropic effects in my years of studying for a PharmD, years of residency specializing in neuropsych, years of clinical practice in a psych hospital where easily 50% of patients have struggles substance abuse. LOL.

It already has an FDA REMS (risk evaluation and management strategy) program which is an extra level of oversight for drugs that carry risks. For example, a Accutane because it can cause birth defects- so the pharmacist and dr collaborate to ensure the woman is on birth control, a requirement for prescribing. It also requires routine blood work for liver l function. Clozapine, an antipsychotic, requires routine blood work due to the risk of neutropenia. REMS programs often require the patient picks up the drug so there is an assurance it’s in the correct hands.

This also makes no sense because it would presumably require prescribers to have controlled substance licensure (presumably a state license but what about a DEA license??? ). That’s not something all mid-level prescribers possess, especially if prescribing such meds is outside their scope of practice.

I’m just curious why a schedule IV specifically. There are some rules around storage, refills, how prescriptions can be transmitted, record keeping etc depending on the Schedule. AFAIK possession of schedule II drugs have different consequences than schedule V,

LAST POINT:
IT’S ALREADY ILLEGAL TO POSESS AN RX MEDICATION WITHOUT A PRESCRIPTION regardless of being a controlled substance or not!
 
AG_PhamD said:
Whoever wrote this bill is an idiot who clearly has zero knowledge pharmaceutical law.

“Scheduled” drugs primarily relates to a drug’s potential for abuse and dependency specifically. Secondarily, it indicates the medical utility of the drug. Schedule I drugs have a high risk of dependency and abuse but are legally considered to have no medical use- this would include LSD, heroin, marijuana (until several days ago). Schedule II to V are medications (drugs accepted for medical use) II with the highest risk for addiction and dependency. II includes most opioids and stimulants. III includes anabolic steroids, ketamine. IV includes Benzodiazepines like Xanax, Valium. V is a a weird class of mostly low dose opioids used for coughs or diarrhea… and Lyrica.
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like most things A they dont care and B they will try anything and just take it to the Supreme Court and that may get them what they want.
 
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AG_PhamD said:
Schedule I drugs have a high risk of dependency and abuse but are legally considered to have no medical use- this would include LSD, heroin, marijuana (until several days ago).
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That is not really accurate, though. Of late, they have been discovering that almost all of the Schedule I drugs do have medical uses (primarily psychiatric-ish), and heroin has always been about as effective as morphine for the same applications. The reason they "have no medical use" is because they are on Schedule I, which curtails all research into their possible applications. They are on Schedule I because Nixon decided that was a handy way to turn hippies and negroes (the types of people he disliked) into criminals. Schedule I and the DEA were created in the early '70s to serve exactly this purpose – it passed unanimously, with nearly all Democrats voting "present" because the issue had been turned into a hot potato and they wanted no part of it either way.
 
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