00:01
How do we classify illicit medications
or medication with high risk of potential?
The FDA and DEA have a five point classification system, one being the worst,
and five being not so bad in terms of potential for abuse.
00:17
So, we call the worst drug schedule I drugs.
So, schedule I drugs have no medical use at all.
00:23
And they have a very high addiction potential.
So, those are drugs like heroin, LSD, mescaline and
all of the others that are listed there.
00:32
Grade II or schedule II drugs are drugs that do have a
medicinal use, but they also have a high addiction potential.
00:39
So, we try not to use these drugs as much as possible.
These includes the amphetamines,
Cocaine, we sometimes use clinically,
with people who have severe nose bleed. So, I remember when
I was in pharmacy school, we had to make a cocaine paste.
00:53
And I remember being very nervous about inhaling any of the
product. So, it is used. We do use cocaine paste in nose bleed.
01:00
But it's not as commonly used,
and it's not something that we often encourage its use.
01:05
Methylphenidate, short acting barbiturates
and strong opioids are also used.
01:10
A good example of a strong opioid that's used in
clinical practice is fentanyl
which has now become one of the most abused opioid
in the market today.
01:19
Now, the schedule III drugs have a lot of medical use.
There is a moderate abuse potential with them.
01:27
So, these are the anabolic steroids that I had mentioned
earlier, barbiturates, and sometimes moderate opioid agonists.
01:35
The class IV drugs are medically use
and there's a low abuse potential.
01:40
So, these are most of the benzodiazepines. These are
some of the stimulants and some of the hypnotic drugs.
01:46
Schedule 5 drugs have an even lower potential for dependence and abuse.
01:52
These may include cough medicines with low amounts of codeine, antidiarrheal medications, like Lomotil, and pregabalin.