DRUG INDUSTRY
SECURITY MEASURES

Responsible companies in the drug industry take elaborate precautions to make sure that prescription products stay in legal channels. Plant security to prevent employee thefts and thefts by outsiders is most complete. Visitors to buildings must check in and wear identity badges. Trained security guards are authorized to search parcels and packages as employees leave buildings.

Security is maintained even during manufacturing. Amphetamine and barbiturate chemicals are kept in sealed drums in a segregated, locked area. Daily withdrawals for use in manufacturing are recorded. And each manufactured batch is given similar security. Responsible manufacturers also see that waste drugs are totally destroyed, and that arrangements are made for the return and destruction of damaged and distressed merchandise. Sales representatives are required to keep accurate records of the drugs they receive for distribution as samples to physicians. Smith Kline & French Laboratories, for example, uses a computer to make sure that salesmen's sample accountability records are exact.

Responsible manufacturers are also careful not to sell drugs to unauthorized firms or individuals, and they take extra precautions by shipping prescription drugs through the most secure means possible. To eliminate pilferage or loss in transit, a manufacturer may ship packaged drugs in huge sealed containers (each capable of holding hundreds of pounds of drugs) which bear no markings identifying

contents.

The drug industry is large, and literally billions of tablets and capsules are produced every year. With this volume, it is almost inevitable that, despite the care exercised by most manufacturers, some drugs will fall into the wrong hands.

DRUG LAW

NARCOTICS (Opiates, Cocaine) and MARIHUANA

Federal

Since 1914, the Federal government has imposed a tax on narcotics and, by use of this tax statute (Harrison Act), has regulated the manufacture and distribution of narcotics. Several laws have followed giving the Federal government additional authority.

Narcotics controlled by these laws include opium, opiates and any derivatives or preparations of these substances. Cocaine is also regulated by narcotic laws. In addition, drugs can be and have been added to this list if they have an addiction-forming or addictionsustaining liability similar to morphine or cocaine. (Many of the additions to the original list are synthetic or man-made narcotics. Meperidine [isonipecaine] is an example of a synthetic narcotic.) Marihuana is controlled under the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937. Modeled after the Harrison Act, this law was enacted both because of international treaty obligations and because use of marihuana frequently precedes use of heroin or other "hard" narcotics. Like its model, the marihuana act and its amendments assess severe penalties on buyers and sellers.

Important features of the narcotic laws and regulations are: (1)
registration of those dealing in narcotic drugs, (2) special taxes,
(3) special order forms and record-keeping provisions, and (4) pro-
hibitions and severe penalties for illegal possession and trafficking
in these drugs.

Not all narcotic preparations are treated alike. Some narcotic-
containing medicines, classified under Federal law as "exempt"
preparations, can be sold without a doctor's prescription. The narcotic
content of these medicines (usually cough syrups) is very low. At
present, some states require a prescription or limit the amount sold
to one person within a 24- to 48-hour period. In a few states, the
buyer must be over 21 years
of age in order to get these drug
products without a doctor's prescription.

30

The penalties under Federal narcotic laws deserve special mention. Illegal sale of narcotics can result in a $20,000 fine and a 5- to 20-year prison term for the first offense. Subsequent offenses call for the same fine and a 10- to 40-year prison term. When sale of heroin is made to a person under 18, parole and probation are denied, even for a first offense. The penalty can be a life term or even death.

Penalties for other narcotic offenses are less severe. For example, illegal possession of narcotics is punishable by fines and/or imprisonment for 2 to 10 years for the first offense, 5 to 20 years for the second, and 10 to 20 years for subsequent offenses. Parole and probation are denied after a first offense.

State

All but a few states have enacted the Uniform Narcotic Drug Act or similar legislation. This Act follows Federal law and is recommended by the Bureau of Narcotics. Some states have variations, but generally speaking, the important provisions are the same in most states.

BARBITURATES AND AMPHETAMINE

Federal

In 1965 the U.S. Congress enacted, and the President signed into law, legislation known as the "Drug Abuse Control Amendments of 1965" (DACA). The legislation was supported by the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association, the Food and Drug Administration, the American Medical Association, organized pharmacy, and other groups and individuals.

In effect since February 1, 1966, this act imposes the following requirements:

1. That all wholesalers, jobbers and manufacturers of controlled drugs must register annually with the Food and Drug Administration and keep records of controlled drugs.

2. That pharmacists, hospitals and doctors who regularly dispense and charge for controlled drugs must keep records of all transactions.

In addition, the act prohibits:

1. Refilling a prescription for one of these drugs more than five times or later than six months after it was originally written.

2. Manufacturing, processing and compounding the controlled drugs, except by registered drug firms.

3. Distributing the designated drugs to persons not authorized to receive them by Federal or state law.

Hallucinogenic drugs such as LSD, DMT, mescaline and psilocybin were brought under DACA control in September, 1966. The use of these drugs is limited to medical investigation, except for mescaline (peyote) which is permitted in bona fide religious ceremonies of the Native American Church.

Penalties for a first offense under the Drug Abuse Control Amendments can be a $1,000 fine or up to a year in jail, or both. Subsequent offenses can be punishable by a $10,000 fine or up to three years in jail, or both. The law contains special penalties for those over 18 convicted of selling controlled drugs to persons under 21 years of age. These penalties range up to a $5,000 fine or two years in prison, or both, for a first offense, and a $15,000 fine or six years in prison, or both, for subsequent offenses.

The intent of the law, according to FDA officials, is not to restrict the legitimate medical use of the controlled drugs, but rather to curb the illegal abuse of them which occurs outside of the usual practice of medicine.

State

State control of the illicit distribution of barbiturates, amphetamine-
like compounds and hallucinogens is anything but uniform. Al-
though all states have some type of regulation for prescription drugs,
some have additional, more stringent regulations covering drugs
such as amphetamine, barbiturates and LSD. The most recent state
laws usually have an illegal possession feature and a requirement
that records of receipt and delivery be kept for several years. If a
law enforcement officer has problems in this area, he should consult
the attorney assigned to his agency on the local law.

Penalties for violation of the state dangerous drug laws are less than
for narcotic violations. In most states violation is a misdemeanor.
Sometimes the maximum penalty is a fine as low as $100.
The need for uniform legislation is obvious. Enforcement agencies,
manufacturers, pharmacists and the public would benefit if every

31