Thursday, March 18, 2010

Are Prescription Tablet Laws Not As Controlled In The Us?

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Sunday, November 8, 2009, 18:45
This news item was posted in Medical Information category and has 6 Comments so far.

As in the UK?
Am just curious having read the list of tablets than Micheal Jackson was taking–Is it because they were given by a private doctor?
I take the UK equivalent of Demerol for a kidney problem and my doctor will not prescribe any other medication while I have a supply of these.
I always thought (based on the fact -if I am right–that codeine is banned in the US) that they were very strict about medicines!
Thank you

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6 Responses to “Are Prescription Tablet Laws Not As Controlled In The Us?”

  1. Olger H said on Sunday, November 8, 2009, 20:39

    MJ was using many names for his prescriptions, this is a frequent problem in the US and it’s called Doctor Shopping http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_shop…
    this link explains the practice, codeine became a controlled substance in the ’70s and is only available by prescription now in the US, I agree with the other posts that if you have enough money you can always find an unscrupulous doctor that will diagnose and prescribe any disease and treatment you want and although this is most publicized when it’s a celebrity it also happens too regular folks all the time

  2. Cause & Effect said on Monday, November 9, 2009, 2:01

    Yes, there are laws regarding Controlled Substances in the USA. Codeine is not banned in the US. Codeine is included in some pain meds and cough preparations, but requires a prescription from a doctor. Many narcotic medications are legal in the US, but they must be prescribed by a doctor. In order to legally possess and consume narcotics in the US, is if it is prescribed by a physician, and the prescription has *your* name on it. It is illegal to take someone else’s prescription pills.
    Your doctor is following basic, practical guidelines for pain management. Many doctors in the US will do the same, scrutinizing patient needs carefully, and only prescribing what is absolutely necessary. However, there is an increasing frequency of some doctors in the US that seem to be just illicit pill mills, money grubbers. It seems that there are more and more doctors popping up that accept only cash, will not accept insurance, and will write darn near any combination of drugs that you want, for several hundred dollars.

  3. pnagy75 said on Monday, November 9, 2009, 2:32

    Oh, you can get anything you want…….especially if you’re rich. There are doctors here that will give you anything for a buck. Even a sick-leave when you’re not sick.
    Controlled or not, it’s available somewhere.

  4. Anonymous said on Monday, November 9, 2009, 6:00

    MONEY is the key..
    You can buy anything on the streets.
    You can get a friend or friends to get prescriptions. back pain ect.
    People that have money and are willing to lie can get anything they want..

  5. Anonymous said on Monday, November 9, 2009, 11:17

    anybody with money regardless of country are able to buy whatever drugs they like legal or illegal
    money makes the world go round
    what micheal asked for micheal got

  6. Rubym said on Monday, November 9, 2009, 13:02

    There are strict laws in the US regarding controlled substances and a doctor violating these laws can lose their license or even go to jail. Most doctors who treat middle class people are careful about following the law for the most part. Codeine is a legally controlled substance, it is not banned, but is normally not given out like Tylenol or Ibuprofen.
    While many patients are on several medications, most doctors are very careful not to mix certain pain medications with anti-depressants or different pain medications, etc. But you often hear of this in celebrity cases. They either have doctors who are not following guidelines or even the law; or they are going to several different doctors and not telling the other doctors what they get.
    Actually ’shopping around can happen with anybody, not just with celebrities. . Many drug addicts ’shop’ for doctors, they will go to a doctor’s office just to get pain medication and then get upset if the doctor will not give them painkillers or refill a prescription from another doctor without a physical exam and complete medical history.
    But every time you hear about one of these suspicious celebrity deaths, Elvis, Anna Nicole Smith, and now possibly with Jackson, there is talk that there are doctors who seem to be more pushers than doctors, prescribing enough medicines to kill an elephant. There is usually some legal action, either the patient’s family sues for malpractice or there can be criminal cases involved. I don’t know if any have gone to jail but I think their license can be revoked. It seems obvious that in many cases the wealthy (even if actually broke) stars can pay large amounts of money to keep doctors on their payroll who don’t have a lot of ethics.

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