Anyone use a controlled substance before?

[gravenewworld]

Has anyone here studied a controlled substance before? If so, how long did it take for you to get through all of the red tape and how did you go about doing it? Can you store it in your lab or did you have to store it somewhere else special? I wanted to study morphine metabolism since it is so well characterized, but it seems like it would be such a hassle to get some.

 

[Andy Resnick]

For a while I was using Chloral Hydrate as a microtubule destabilizer- chloral hydrate is a schedule IV drug (US classification), so I had to involve someone who was allowed to order, store, and dispense the drug. This person ran the animal core facility and had a lot of experience dealing with this situation, which made the process infinitely easier. Even so, I would recommend finding something else to work with- especially since, by your own admission, you won't learn anything new.

 

[Monique]

It took me 6 months to get a license to include a common opioid medication in my research line. I spent weeks as a detective investigating who might have a license that I could hook on to, going from one person to the next. I tried researchers, who couldn't help me, I tried the hospital pharmacy, couldn't help me, in the end I found a legal representative of the University who was licensed to apply for an addition on an existing license of the animal core facility.

In the end it would have been easier and faster to contact the vet at the animal core facility (like in Andy's post), if only I had known.. it would have saved 3 months in waiting (documents disappearing on the wrong desks).

A controlled substance must be locked in a safe, even with the license in place I need to apply for a 24-h expiring license in order to perform experiments. Try and find someone who is aware of the local legislation.

I'm now investigating the use of other medications, I'm afraid that will cost a lot of time again. Oh, and it is really expensive as well. A new license costs about 1500 euros, every time an order is made about 200 euros is charged for the "special treatment".