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Article: Whether physician-assisted suicide serves a "legitimate medical purpose" under the Drug Enforcement Administration's regulations implementing the Controlled Substances Act.
- Article from:
- Issues in Law & Medicine
- Article date:
- March 22, 2002
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 National Legal Center for the Medically Dependent & Disabled, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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You have asked for our opinion whether a physician who assists in a patient's suicide by prescribing a controlled substance has a "legitimate medical purpose" within the meaning of a regulation of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), 21 C.F.R. [section] 1306.04(a) (2000), (1) if the physician is immune from liability under a state law such as the Oregon "Death with Dignity Act" for assisting in a suicide in such a manner. (2) In our view, assisting in suicide, even in a manner permitted by state law, is not a "legitimate medical purpose" under the DEA regulation, and accordingly dispensing controlled substances for this purpose violates the Controlled Substances ...