View source for Medicine:Durham-Humphrey Amendment

{{Infobox U.S. legislation
| name= Durham-Humphrey Amendment
| fullname= 1951 Food, Drug, and Cosmetics Act Amendments
| acronym=
| enacted by= 82nd
| effective date=
| public law url= http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/STATUTE-65/pdf/STATUTE-65-Pg648.pdf
| cite public law= 82-215
| cite statutes at large= 65 Stat. 648
| acts amended= [[Medicine:Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act|Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act]]
| acts repealed= Pure Food and Drug Act
| title amended=21 U.S.C.: Food and Drugs
| sections created=
| sections amended={{Usc-title-chap|21|9}} §&nbsp;301 et seq.
| leghisturl=
| introducedin=
| introducedbill= H.R. 3298
| introducedby=
| introduceddate=
| committees=
| passedbody1=
| passeddate1=
| passedvote1=
| passedbody2=
| passeddate2=
| passedvote2=
| conferencedate=
| passedbody3=
| passeddate3=
| passedvote3=
| passedbody4=
| passeddate4=
| passedvote4=
| signedpresident= Harry S. Truman
| signeddate= October 26, 1951
| amendments=

}}

The '''Durham-Humphrey Amendment''' explicitly defined two specific categories for medications, legend ([[Medicine:Prescription drug|prescription]]) and [[Medicine:Over-the-counter drug|over-the-counter]] (OTC). This [[Social:Amendment|amendment]] was co-sponsored by then Senator (and later Vice President) Hubert H. Humphrey Jr., who was a [[Medicine:Pharmacist|pharmacist]] in South Dakota before beginning his political career.<ref name="FDA_Hist">[https://www.fda.gov/centennial/this_week/43_oct_22_oct_28.html This Week In FDA History...] Accessed 1 Apr 2009.</ref>  The other sponsor of this amendment was Carl Durham, a pharmacist representing North Carolina in the House of Representatives.

The bill requires any drug that is habit-forming or potentially harmful to be dispensed under the supervision of a health practitioner as a prescription drug and must carry the statement, "Caution: Federal law prohibits dispensing without a prescription."<ref name="FDA_Hist"/>

Until this law, there was no requirement that any drug be labeled for sale by prescription only. The amendment defined prescription drugs as those unsafe for [[Medicine:Self-medication|self-medication]] and which should therefore be used only under a doctor's supervision.<ref name="drug_law_evo">[https://www.fda.gov/FDAC/special/newdrug/benlaw.html The Evolution of U.S. Drug Law] Accessed 1 Apr 2009.</ref>

Legend drugs must be dispensed with direct medical supervision, but over-the-counter drugs can be purchased and used without a prescription.

The law also legalized verbal transmission of prescriptions and provided for the legal right of a pharmacist to refill prescriptions as indicated in a provider's initial prescription.

==See also==
* [[Medicine:Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act|Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act]]
* [[Medicine:Kefauver Harris Amendment|Kefauver Harris Amendment]]
* [[Organization:Food and Drug Administration|Food and Drug Administration]]

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

[[Category:Pharmaceuticals policy]]

{{Sourceattribution|Durham-Humphrey Amendment|1}}