Barbiturates - The Law

The Law

When barbiturates first became available in the United States, they could be purchased without a prescription. It did not take long, however, for lawmakers to realize that barbiturates were addictive. On their own, some state governments adopted laws in the mid-1930s that banned the sale of nonprescription barbiturates. In 1938, the U.S. government stepped in, passing the U.S. Food, Drug, and Cosmetics Act. This act gave the FDA regulatory power over new drugs, including barbiturates. This means that drug companies would have to apply to the FDA for approval to manufacture such drugs. Once approved, the FDA would determine whether a new drug would require a medical doctor's prescription.

For more than thirty years, until the passage of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) of 1970, barbiturates were still widely abused. Under the stiffer terms of the CSA, barbiturates became controlled substances. In other words, their use is regulated by certain federal laws. The CSA called for the assignment of all controlled drug substances into one of five categories called schedules. These schedules are based on a substance's medicinal value, possible harmfulness, and potential for abuse and addiction. Schedule I is reserved for the most dangerous drugs that have no recognized medical use.

Various barbiturates fall into three different schedules: Schedule II, Schedule III, and Schedule IV. Drugs in all of these categories cannot be obtained legally without a medical doctor's prescription. Schedule II drugs are dangerous substances with genuine medical uses that also have a high potential for abuse and addiction. They are accepted for medical use with restrictions. These drugs may lead to severe psychological or physical dependence. Barbiturates in this category include amobarbital (Amytal), pentobarbital (Nembutal), and secobarbital (Seconal and Tuinal).

Schedule III drugs have less of a potential for abuse than drugs placed in Schedules I and II. The drugs have real medical uses, but their abuse can still lead to phychological addiction or phychological dependenceThe belief that a person needs to take a certain substance in order to function, whether that person really does or not. in those who take them. Barbiturates in this category include aprobarbital (Alurate), butabarbital (Butisol), and butalbital (Fiorinal and Fioricet).

Schedule IV drugs have a low abuse potential when compared to Schedule III drugs. These substances have an accepted medical use, but some patients risk developing a psychological dependence on them. Schedule IV barbiturates include barbital (Veronal), mephobarbital (Mebaral), and phenobarbital (Luminal).

Fines and Jail Time

Possessing barbiturates without a prescription is against the law and can result in up to a year's imprisonment and/or thousands of dollars in fines. The length of the jail sentence and the amount of the fine are increased when a person is convicted of a second or third offense of barbiturate possession. People convicted of distributing or selling barbiturates face lengthy prison terms and fines in the millions of dollars. Selling drugs is a dangerous business for both the buyer and the seller. Illegally distributed Schedule II drugs can kill or seriously injure a user. In cases such as these, the distributor or seller of the substance is considered partially responsible for the user's death and could end up with a lifetime jail sentence.

In the United Kingdom, drugs are regulated by the 1971 Misuse of Drugs Act and the 1986 Medicines Act. The 1971 act placed drugs in three classes: A, B, or C. The most dangerous drugs are called Class A drugs; the least dangerous drugs are in the C category.

Most barbiturates are considered Class B drugs throughout the United Kingdom. If they are used in an injectable form, however, they jump to a Class A rating. The maximum penalty for possession of a Class B drug under UK law is five years of prison, an unlimited fine, or a combination of jail time and a fine. Penalties for supplying or distributing Class B drugs are higher. For Class A drugs, the penalty for possession is seven years in prison, an unlimited fine, or both. The supply penalty for this class could land a seller in jail for life.