Opinion ID: 1058176
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 16

Heading: Drug Control Act and Pharmacy Practice Act

Text: The petitioner also argues that the lethal injection protocol is invalid because it requires the Warden, Ricky Bell, to obtain, mix, and administer a controlled substance in violation of the Drug Control Act of 1989 and the Pharmacy Practice Act of 1996. The State responds that the legislature properly enacted lethal injection as a means of execution and that the Acts relied upon by the petitioner are not applicable to executions by lethal injection. The Drug Control Act of 1989 indicates that sodium Pentothal is a schedule II controlled substance. Tenn.Code Ann. § 39-17-408(e) (2003). Sodium Pentothal has a high potential for abuse, which can lead to severe dependence. Tenn.Code Ann. § 39-17-407(1). As a result, sodium Pentothal may only be dispensed by written prescription or by a practitioner directly to the user of the controlled substance. Tenn.Code Ann. § 39-17-402(7). The Pharmacy Practice Act requires that persons who prescribe or dispense sodium Pentothal or other controlled substances comply with annual registration requirements. Tenn.Code Ann. § 53-11-302(a) (1999). We begin by emphasizing the broad statutory authority given to the Department of Correction to implement lethal injection as the primary means of execution. Tenn.Code Ann. § 40-23-114. Nothing in these provisions is subject to the provisions of the Drug Control Act or the Pharmacy Control Act. Indeed, reading any conditions or restrictions into the lethal injection provisions would risk frustrating the Tennessee General Assembly's considered decision to adopt execution by lethal injection as the primary method of execution in Tennessee. In addition, the Drug Control Act and the Pharmacy Practice Act were designed to prevent the illegal sale or distribution of controlled substances and to provide a system for drug abuse control. These purposes would not be served or advanced by a strained interpretation making them applicable to the lethal injection statutes or to the lethal injection protocol. As a result, the petitioner is not entitled to relief on this ground.