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→Controlled drugs
==Controlled drugs==
==Controlled drugs==
There are five schedules of controlled drugs:
# Schedule 1 drugs require a prescription from persons with a Home Office license so these are not applicable to veterinary practice; they include hallucinogenic drugs such as Ecstasy.
# Schedule 2 drugs include alfentanyl, amphetamines, fentanyl, methadone, morphine, pethidine, and secobarbital. Schedule 2 drugs must be kept in a locked cabinet, or in a locked cabinet that is secured to the car when used by ambulatory vets. A controlled drugs register must be kept to record the supply and use of the drugs, and disposal requires an authorised person such as a policeman to be present as a witness. The whereabouts of the controlled drugs cabinet key needs to be recorded on a register or,alernatively, all vets in the practice can be issued with a key.
# Schedule 3 drugs include benzphetamine, buprenorphine, midazolam, pentobarbital, and phenobarbital. These drugs have to be stored securely but none of them require a controlled drugs register.
#Schedule 4 drugs include benzodiazepines and ketamine; there is no specific legal requirement for safe storage or for a controlled drugs register, but as ketamine has increasingly been targeted as a drug of abuse in people, the RCVS now recommend that it is included in the locked cabinet and an informal register of supply and use kept.
#Schedule 5 drugs include codeine and morphine – they are present in very low amounts in veterinary medications and are exempt from all controlled drug requirements.
==The Drugs Cascade==
==The Drugs Cascade==