State laws vary greatly, and many restrict or regulate the prescribing of opioids in the treatment of pain in ways that Federal law does not. A 1990 revision of the Uniform Controlled Substances Act addresses the legitimate use of controlled substances by recognizing that the prescribing, administering, and dispensing of opioid analgesics for intractable pain is part of professional medical treatment. Each State legislature has received the revision from the Uniform Law Commissioners. The panel recommends that laws and regulatory policies aimed at diversion control not hamper the appropriate use of opioid analgesics for cancer pain.
Clinicians are responsible for knowing how controlled substances are regulated in their States.