Medication misuse and abuse: duties and responsibilities of dispensing pharmacists.

Misuse of medications can have major consequences for the consumer or patient's health. In the case of a drug delivered only on medical prescription, the misuse usually results from an error or negligence on the part of the prescribing doctor and/or the pharmacist dispensing the medication. But whereas, under French Law, doctors are regularly prosecuted for their irresponsibility, pharmacists frequently avoid any legal charges.

The court medical expert in France: changes in status.

In France the status of the court expert has undergone a significant change with the adoption of statute no. 2004-130 of 11 February 2004 and its implementing regulations no. 2004-1463 of 23 December 2004.

Abusive prescription of psychostimulants: a study of two cases.

Because psychostimulants have serious possible side effects and particular potential for abuse, their therapeutic indications are today exclusively limited to disorders such as obesity, narcolepsy, or attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. We report two cases of abusive prescription of these drugs. The first concerns a woman who was treated for a 3 kg weight gain with fenproporex for 5 years and presented a withdrawal syndrome when this drug was no longer marketed in France.