Regardless of your career, facing drug charges can have significant consequences in your professional and personal life. Drug crimes do not always involve illicit drugs. In some cases, they involve prescription drugs. For example, you cannot prescribe anabolic steroids outside of their legal, medical use.
When you have a medical license, you have an obligation to your patients and the medical board. Failure to follow the guidelines can result in various sanctions.
Illicit uses of anabolic steroids
There are various medical uses for anabolic steroids. You may administer them after a patient suffers an injury or infection to assist with weight gain or treat hormone issues. Unfortunately, many athletes abuse anabolic steroids. They misuse steroids to gain strength, muscle mass and increase physical performance.
You cannot prescribe or administer steroids to patients who want to gain muscle mass or enhance their performance for an athletic event. Anabolic steroids require a medical necessity.
Risks to your license
If the board discovers you prescribed steroids when not medically necessary, your license may be in jeopardy. The board has the right to impose disciplinary sanctions against your license and certificate. One violation comes with a minimum suspension. At the least, the board will suspend your license for three months. However, even the first violation may result in a revocation of your license.
If you already have one violation, the board may suspend your license for a year, minimum. Again, the maximum penalty is to lose your license entirely.
When you administer drugs without medical necessity, you may face criminal charges along with disciplinary action from the medical board.