Druggist
| Author | Jeffrey Lehman, Shirelle Phelps |
Page 26
An individual who, as a regular course of business, mixes, compounds, dispenses, and sells medicines and similar health aids.
The term druggist may be used interchangeably with pharmacist.
Ordinarily, druggists must be registered under the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C.A. § 301 et seq. [1938]). Federal drug abuse laws make provisions for the special registration of any individual who handles controlled substances.
As a public health measure, states have the power to regulate the preparation and dispensing of drugs. They can proscribe the sale of certain substances without a prescription and specifically designate who is permitted to deal in prescription drugs. Statutes govern the procedures that must be observed when drugs are handled, as well as the steps that must be taken for the inspection of drugstores and pharmacy records by agents of the state.
States can properly mandate that pharmacists be licensed, provided the necessary qualifications are not unreasonable. For example, although it would be reasonable for a state to require that pharmacists earn college degrees, it would be unreasonable to require them to be natural-born citizens of the United States. State legislatures have the authority to prohibit any type of improper competition that would tend to lower the service standards.
Druggists must ordinarily be a graduate of an accredited pharmacy school. Because they handle controlled substances, they must also be licensed and registered.
A druggist must ordinarily be a graduate of an accredited pharmacy school and be of sound moral character. In some instances, he or she might be required to pass a written qualifying examination. An individual who conforms to all the requisite qualifications cannot be refused a license arbitrarily.
An individual who is licensed in one state does not have the authority to dispense drugs in other states, except where one state consents to recognize a license that has been issued in another state. A license might have to be periodically renewed and can be revoked or suspended for misconduct, such as the selling of an unlabeled drug, the unauthorized substitution of a cheaper for a more expensive drug, or the sale of prescription drugs to an individual who does not have a valid prescription.
Any state...
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