understanding controlled substances is an important part of being a pharmacy tech controlled substances are drugs regulated by law due to potential abuse let's understand these drugs more with the Controlled Substances Act of 1970 the Controlled Substances Act Consolidated federal laws concerning narcotics stimulants depressants and designer drugs it established the Drug Enforcement Administration DEA and created Five controlled substance schedules based on abuse potential these schedules categorize drugs based on their potential for abuse and accepted medical use schedule one includes substances like heroin and LSD with high abuse potential and no accepted medical use they are illegal and will not be prescribed dispensed or stocked schedule 2 encompasses drugs like morphine and Oxycodone with a high potential for abuse but accepted medical use with severe restrictions moving down the schedules we have substances with decreasing potential for abuse schedule 3 drugs have a moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence some examples are ketamine or Codine the anabolic steroids Control Act of 1990 classified anabolic steroids and growth hormones as schedule three drugs schedule forward includes medications such as Xanax and Valium and is CL last as low potential for abuse and has accepted medical use with limited dependence schedule 5 like cough syrups has the lowest potential for abuse and is accepted for medical use when you receive a prescription for a controlled substance you must check all the parts of the prescription in general only a pharmacist or a pharmacy intern will fill a prescription of a controlled substance however a pharmacy tech May assist with the verification of of these prescriptions a prescription for a controlled substance includes the full name and address for the patient detailed information from the prescriber the date of the prescription and the number of refills and prescriber signature if anything is missing the prescription cannot be verified so what's a DEA number a DEA number is a unique identifier assigned by The Drug Enforcement Administration to healthcare providers authorized to prescribe dispense and administer Controlled Substances it ensures that prescriptions for controlled substances are coming from legitimate medical professionals a DEA number consists of two letters six numbers and one check digit the first letter identifies the type of registrant and the second is the first letter of the registrant's last name let's take a look at a prescription find the drug is it a controlled substance the drug is oxycodone and it is a schedule 2 drug okay now let's look at the prescription details does it have all of the required Parts it doesn't there's a missing prescriber signature and an incomplete DEA number this prescription cannot be dispensed now let's talk about refills for Controlled Substances since schedule one drugs are illegal we start with schedule 2 schedule 2 medications generally do not allow refills a new prescription is required for each dispensing for schedules 3 and four refills are permitted with restrictions typically up to five times within a six-month period patients can only request a transfer to another Pharmacy ones prescribers can submit these prescriptions by telephone fax or computer but a pharmacist must transfer this to a paper prescription form for filing schedule 5 medications often allow refills if they are prescriptions pharmacies keep OTC products with these medications behind the counter since there are regulations around these sales you have to be 18 years old to purchase in limited quantities these sales have to be logged in a sale book remember refill regulations vary by state and it's crucial to stay informed about the legality and proper handling of Controlled Substances always consult your State Board of Pharmacy and the DEA for the latest guidelines