Drug crimes do not always have to involve illicit substances. Someone with the ability to prescribe medication actually has a possibility of getting in trouble for doing things like prescribing legal drugs for illegal uses.
If a person with a medical license fails to fulfill their obligations as a medical provider, they could actually risk losing their license entirely.
Illegal use of steroids
Mayo Clinic discusses the negative potential impacts of anabolic steroids. These drugs actually have numerous legitimate medical uses. They can help with infections and injuries, and may also see use in helping with hormone issues or weight gain.
Some athletes, however, misuse anabolic steroids in order to increase their physical performance while gaining strength and muscle mass.
Because this is not a medical necessity and most of these athletes do not have a medical reason to use steroids, the person who prescribes them can end up in serious trouble on the basis of prescribing unnecessary medication.
Potential penalties
The board can take action against such a medical provider. The potential consequences can include a minimum license suspension of up to three months for a first time offense. If a person already has one violation on record, they could face a minimum of a year of license suspension.
However, the maximum penalty – even for first time offenders – is the potential to lose a medical license entirely. This may seem like a harsh penalty, but it is due to the fact that the board treats reckless prescription of unnecessary medication very seriously.