How the Federal Legislation Affect the Practice of Pharmacology

and yet simple of the act, which severely impacts pharmacy and is forbidden by the PDMA, is the act of knowingly trading, purchasing, or knowingly selling a prescription drug sample. This offense is punishable for a fine of up to two hundred and fifty- thousand dollars, and up to ten years of imprisonment. Many pharmacists do not realize is that there is a fee of up to one hundred and twenty five thousand dollars for the individuals who provide information leading to the conviction of a violator of the PDMA. Another important portion of this vast law is that it prohibits pharmacists to resale of any prescription drug that was previously purchased by hospitals or any other health care facility. The provision was intended to eliminate a major source of drugs in the diversion market such as; drugs that were originally purchased by hospitals or health care facilities at substantially discounted prices, as allowed by the Nonprofit Institutions Act of 1938, and then resold to the retail class of trade. Congress believed that the resale of such drugs created an unfair for of competition. Re...

The drug control policy of the United States has always been a subject of debate. From Prohibition in the early 1930’s to the current debate over the legalization of marijuana, drugs have always been near the top of the government’s agenda. Drug use affects every part of our society. It strains our economy, our healthcare, our criminal justice systems, and it endangers the futures of young people. In order to support a public health approach to drug control, the Obama administration has committed over $10 billion to drug education programs and support for expanding access to drug treatment for addicts (Office). The United States should commit more government resources to protect against illegal use of drugs by youths and provide help for recovering addicts.

One of the aspects of current drug policy in the United States that continues to provide

The U.S. Drug Policy is based on a substance that can either be harmful to others or effect a certain racial group. The rate of overall drug use in America has dropped by roughly one-third over the past three decades. Since 2006, meth use in America has been cut by half and cocaine use has dropped by nearly 40 percent. In Fiscal Year 2012, the U.S. Federal Government spent $10.1 billion on drug prevention and treatment vs. $9.4 billion on domestic law enforcement and incarceration, $3.6 billion on interdiction, and $2.1 billion on international drug control programs. Each year, specialized drug courts supported by the Obama Administration divert approximately 120,000 non-violent drug offenders into treatment instead of jail. Today, there are over 2,600 of these courts in operation in the United States and growing. Cocaine production in Colombia – the source of 95 percent of the cocaine in the United States – has dropped by almost two-thirds since 2001.

Labeling theorists explore how and why certain acts are defined as criminal or deviant and why other such acts are not. As such, they also who is identified as a criminal, and who is not. They question how and why certain people become defined as criminal or deviant. Such theorists view criminals not as evil people who engage in wrong acts but as individuals who have a criminal status forced upon them by both the criminal justice system and the community at large. From this point of view, criminal acts themselves are not significant; it is the reactions of the rest of society to acts defined as criminal that are most crucial. Crime and its control involve a process of social definition, which involves a response from others to an individual's behavior. The external response is crucial to how an individual views himself. According to Sociologist Howard S. Becker (1963) "Deviance is not a quality of the act the person commits, but rather a consequence of the application by others of rules and sanctions to an offender. The deviant is one to whom that label has successfully been applied; deviant behavior is behavior that people so label."

The American Medical Association's Council on Scientific Affairs should be commended for its report, "Marijuana: Its HealthHazards and Therapeutic Potential." Not only does the report outline evidence of marijuana's potential harms, but it distinguishes this concern from the legitimate issue of marijuana's important medical benefits. All too often the hysteria that attends public debate over marijuana's social abuse compromises a clear appreciation for this critical distinction.

6. http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/drugs/drugs-law/Class-a-b-c/, article title: ?Class A,B and C drugs?, by the home office, accessed 12th June 2008.

Those advanced practice nurses who hold a CTP may prescribe medications according to the Ohio Board of Nursing Formulary and as established by the Committee on Prescriptive Governance (CPG) (Napp, 2012). Since enactment, the CPG has met on several occasions to modify the formulary for schedule II drugs to pre...

Does selling drugs once warrant a broad, minimum sentence of five years that would be similarly assigned to one who regularly sells drugs? A typical court-ordered sentence for selling drugs is much less than a five-year sentence, but with mandatory minimum sentences, judges are required to sentence those found guilty to a minimum of five years behind bars. The primary problem with mandatory minimum sentences is that they inherently sentence an individual solely based on the type of crime as opposed to the extent, severity, or circumstances. These laws are sometimes extreme and considered to be unconstitutional by many. As an issue of immense gravity, these laws are highly controversial and evoke a wide range of emotions. The discretion of federal judges is taken away when these laws are implemented. These laws were enacted in the 1980s at the height of fears about illegal drug and the Anti-Drug Abuse Act created mandatory minimum sentences for certain federal drug offenses. The mandatory minimum drug laws in place right now should be revised because the committers of minor drug offenses are receiving sentences too large and too severe for the crimes committed.

Automated medication dispensers may be the key for improved quality of care and safety for individuals who live in a community-based setting. Errors and adverse incidents related to medication use are becoming more common whether it is because of cognitive changes related to aging, substance abuse or simply just not taking medications as prescribed. A working definition of medication misuse for the purposes of this paper is the use of medications, illicit, prescribed, or over-the-counter, in a manner other than as recommended or directed (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2013). It has been reported that in the United States alone, 105 people die each day from drug overdose and more than 6,748 people are treated by an emergency department in this country each day for medication misuse and abuse (CDC, 2013). Many companies are marketing devices and systems to help reduce the incidents of medication misuse and abuse with automated medication dispensing systems.