I thought I'd take a minute to discuss three questions that I get about prescription drugs. [Update: Several people posted comments or emailed me about the relationship between prescription drugs and controlled substances. I discussed that issue in some detail in this post, but briefly, some prescription drugs contain controlled substances and some don't. Certainly, if a prescription drug is also a controlled substance, the controlled substance laws will apply to it and will prohibit possession, sale, etc. of the substance absent legal authority. The discussion below focuses on the prescription drug laws, i.e., on prescription drugs that are not controlled substances.] 1. Is it illegal to possess a prescription drug without a prescription? No, at least under state law. It may be illegal to "recei[ve] in commerce" a prescription drug without a prescription under G.S. 106-122(3), but I'm not aware of any statute that criminalizes simple possession of a prescription drug without a prescription. 2. Is it illegal to sell a prescription drug without a prescription? Until recently, I thought that the answer to this question was yes under federal law but no under state law, and I said as much in an earlier blog post. But then I came across the following language in G.S. 106-134.1(a), the statute that imposes the prescription requirement: "The act of dispensing a drug contrary to the provisions of this subdivision [i.e., without a prescription] shall be deemed to be an act which results in a drug being misbranded while held for sale." A [...]
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