What You Need to Know About Controlled Substance Laws in Florida
Florida laws on controlled substances designate prescribing limits and other vital information. Here’s everything you need to know about laws surrounding controlled substances in Florida.
What is a Controlled Substance?
A controlled substance is a drug or other substance categorized as a schedule I, II, III, IV, or V classification of drugs. Any drug falling under the five stated schedules is defined as a controlled substance. Controlled substances are classified because users may, unfortunately, abuse them. Examples of controlled substances include opioids, stimulants, and depressants.
Controlled substances, such as pain-relieving prescriptions, can be very dangerous. Federal and state governments control specific drugs for many reasons. Controlled substances may fuel addiction in patients. Others may try to sell controlled substances illegally, so the stakes for governments to control the prescriptions of these substances are very high. Here, Florida’s Controlled Substances Bill comes into play.
2018 Controlled Substances Bill: Taking Control of Controlled Substances in Florida
In 2018, Florida signed the Controlled Substances Bill into law, covering everything from prescribing limits, requirements on education for controlled substance prescribing, and expanded use of the state’s Prescription Drug Monitoring Program.
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Education Requirements
Any medical practitioner or authorized agent registered with the United States Drug Enforcement Agency, who prescribes controlled substances, must take a Board-approved continuing education course on controlled substances.
Prescription Limits for Pain
A practitioner can only prescribe up to a 3-day supply of a Schedule II opioid to eliminate acute pains. However, few exceptions apply to this 3-day supply, where practitioners can prescribe up to 7 days. Practitioners make the exception medically necessary. If a practitioner makes this exception, they must write an “acute pain exception” on the prescription and document the reasoning as to why they elected to exceed the 3-day supply limit.
If the pain is more long-term, practitioners must write “Non-Acute Pain” to signify this on the prescription.
Clinics for Pain Management
As of January 1, 2019, all pain management clinics in Florida had to be registered with the Department of Health as pain management clinics, providing any information the Department of Health deems necessary to ensure the operation is running smoothly.
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Florida’s Prescription Drug Monitoring Program
Every prescribing practitioner and their patient must consult the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program in Florida, or the PDMP, every time the controlled substance is prescribed to a patient age 16 or older.
If one does not consult the PDMP, they may receive a non-disciplinary citation or discipline by the regulatory board of this legislation.
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