(a) No controlled substance listed in Schedule II may be dispensed without a written prescription issued and signed or electronically generated and transmitted by a prescribing professional, which shall comply with all requirements under §§ 407 et seq. of Title 20, except that in emergency situations, as prescribed by the Secretary of Health by regulation, the prescribing professional may issue an orally transmitted prescription for such substance; however, such prescription shall be recorded in writing or electronically generated and transmitted and be remitted to the prescription dispatching facility within forty-eight (48) hours, counting from the hour in which the said professional issued such orally transmitted prescription for the substance in question. No prescription for a controlled substance in Schedule II may be refilled. Prescriptions for controlled substances in Schedule II may be electronically generated, transmitted, and received, if the corresponding federal statutes so authorize and pursuant to the regulations of the Drug Enforcement Administration.
(b) No controlled substance listed in Schedule III or IV may be dispensed without an orally transmitted or written prescription issued and signed or electronically generated and transmitted by a prescribing professional, which shall comply with all requirements under §§ 407 et seq. of Title 20. Such prescriptions may be refilled by order of the practitioner up to five (5) times within a term of six (6) months from the date of the prescription, unless renewed by the practitioner. Prescriptions for controlled substances in Schedules III and IV may be electronically generated, transmitted, and received if the corresponding federal statutes so authorize and pursuant to the regulations of the Drug Enforcement Administration.
(c) Prescriptions required in subsections (a) and (b) of this section shall be kept in the manner provided in § 2307(c)(1) of this title, for keeping official order forms. Electronically generated and transmitted prescriptions may be kept in the electronic format in which the same were transmitted, if the corresponding federal statutes so authorize and pursuant to the regulations of the Drug Enforcement Administration, and if it is possible for such prescriptions to be kept for the term provided in § 2307(c)(1) of this title and for a copy thereof to be produced during such term.
(d) Prescriptions for controlled substances in Schedule V may be electronically generated, transmitted, and received, if the corresponding federal statutes so authorize and pursuant to the regulations of the Drug Enforcement Administration. No controlled substance listed in Schedule V which is a drug may be distributed or dispensed other than for a medical purpose.
(e) The Secretary of Health by regulation shall establish the controls as he may deem necessary for the distribution or dispensation of the controlled substances.
History —June 23, 1971, No. 4, p. 526, § 308; Aug. 10, 2009, No. 64, § 2.