“Legal Pushing:” A Study in Over-Reaction to a Fancied Menace

Abstract

Adverse publicity directed at abusive distribution of certain doctor prescribed drugs called “legal pushing,” has led to an intensification of efforts by social control agencies to completely ban usage of these substances. Such a decision would consequently be based on the belief that there has been substantial abuse of these substances by prescriptions used for reasons other than strictly medical problems. The empirical evidence presented in this paper supports an opposite conclusion in that prescriptions for potentially abusive substances, particularly amphetamines and barbiturates, have significantly declined in the areas over a six year period beginning in 1969. Abuses tend to be highly area-bound and apparently involve relatively small numbers of doctors and pharmacies, revealing little factual basis for legislative action banning legitimate uses of these substances.