A category of drugs that can be legally prescribed but are the most stringently monitored because of their potential for
abuse and {diversion]. Schedule
II drugs include stimulants such as cocaine, amphetamine and opiates such as fentanyl, which is far more dangerous than
heroin,
even though the latter is Schedule I. While Schedule I drugs have been deemed as having "no medical value" and cannot be prescribed because they are presumably the most dangerous, Schedule II drugs are generally far more dangerous and addictive than Schedule I drugs. The fact that non-lethal drugs such a
cannabis, and psychedelics such as
LSD and peyote are Schedule I drugs say more about the period when the schedules were created (as part of the 1970 Controlled Substances Act, under Nixon) than they do about the actual danger of the drugs.
Dr. Feldman's ability to prescribe Schedule
II drugs was suspended after the
DEA noticed he was prescribing thousands of Percocets at a time to six buxom women he knew from Temple.