What is a licensed medical practitioner?

A Licensed medical practitioner is a person who is licensed, certified, and/or registered, in accordance with applicable federal, state, local, or foreign laws and regulations, to prescribe controlled substances and other drugs.

Only a licensed medical practitioner is allowed to issue a prescription of a controlled substance to a driver according to the FMCSRs. If the drug appears on Schedule I, an exemption can only be used if they understand the driver’s health history and the assigned job duties. Unless there is this understanding, and the licensed medical practitioner communicates to the driver that use of the controlled substance will not interfere with the driver’s job duties, use of the prescribed drug is still in violation of the FMCSRs, even though it was obtained through legal means. This is found in 392.4(c), 382.213, and 391.41(b)(12).