What are controlled substances and how do they differ from prescription only items?
Controlled substances are in a “higher” bracket than prescription only substances. As such, they are usually governed by a different government body. For example in the USA the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) is responsible for controlled drugs rather than just the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Different countries place different emphasis on different products, apart from the obvious narcotics and additive substances (such as amphetamines and barbiturates etc.), many countries consider products such as pain killers, steroids and even weight loss drugs as controlled substances, believing that they are also addictive substances. There are usually 5-classes of control, class 1 being highly addictive and no-medical use, these substances usually cannot be even prescribed by a DEA registered physician. Class 2 and 3 are still very-high categories but can be prescribed because they are recognized as having a medical use. Lower classes 4 and 5 are usually more “lenient” because they are co
