{"data":{"id":"us-tn/tenn.-code-ann.-53-10-112","jurisdiction":"us-tn","citation":"Tenn. Code Ann. § 53-10-112","heading":"Prevention of abuse of drugs dispensed by pharmacist","body":"(a) For purposes of this section: (1) \"Pharmacist\" has the same meaning as defined in § 63-10-204 ; and (2) \"Pharmacy\" has the same meaning as defined in § 63-10-204 . (b) A pharmacy owner, manager or operator shall respect the professional judgment of the pharmacist in holding the health and safety of a patient to be their first consideration. (c) A pharmacist shall, by utilizing education, skill, experience and professional judgment, make every reasonable effort to prevent the abuse of drugs which the pharmacist dispenses. In doing so, a pharmacist may decline to dispense to a patient a legend drug which in that pharmacist's professional judgment, lacks a therapeutic value for the patient or which is not for a legitimate medical purpose. (d) A pharmacist shall not be subject to any penalty or fine when fulfilling the pharmacist's obligation to uphold the health and safety of a patient which results in the pharmacist declining to dispense any legend drug. (e) It shall be a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by fine only, for the owner, manager or operator of a pharmacy to knowingly restrict or interfere with, or knowingly require a protocol or procedure that restricts or interferes with, a pharmacist's professional duty to counsel with patients and to evaluate the patients' appropriate pharmaceutical needs and the exercise of the pharmacist's professional judgment as to whether it is appropriate to dispense a legend drug to a patient. Added by 2013 Tenn. Acts, ch. 276,s 1, eff. 7/1/2013.\n(a) For purposes of this section: (1) \"Pharmacist\" has the same meaning as defined in § 63-10-204 ; and (2) \"Pharmacy\" has the same meaning as defined in § 63-10-204 .\n(1) \"Pharmacist\" has the same meaning as defined in § 63-10-204 ; and\n(2) \"Pharmacy\" has the same meaning as defined in § 63-10-204 .\n(b) A pharmacy owner, manager or operator shall respect the professional judgment of the pharmacist in holding the health and safety of a patient to be their first consideration.\n(c) A pharmacist shall, by utilizing education, skill, experience and professional judgment, make every reasonable effort to prevent the abuse of drugs which the pharmacist dispenses. In doing so, a pharmacist may decline to dispense to a patient a legend drug which in that pharmacist's professional judgment, lacks a therapeutic value for the patient or which is not for a legitimate medical purpose.\n(d) A pharmacist shall not be subject to any penalty or fine when fulfilling the pharmacist's obligation to uphold the health and safety of a patient which results in the pharmacist declining to dispense any legend drug.\n(e) It shall be a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by fine only, for the owner, manager or operator of a pharmacy to knowingly restrict or interfere with, or knowingly require a protocol or procedure that restricts or interferes with, a pharmacist's professional duty to counsel with patients and to evaluate the patients' appropriate pharmaceutical needs and the exercise of the pharmacist's professional judgment as to whether it is appropriate to dispense a legend drug to a patient.","path":["TN Code","Title 53","Chapter 10"],"source_url":"https://oss-data-us.vaquill.ai/v2026.08/us_tn_statutes.parquet","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:26Z","sha256":"ba0197d1e281fc22b5b2d99980578cab00c05868514ab9e9e4e31cef23754093","source_id":"us-tn","stale":false,"prev":"us-tn/tenn.-code-ann.-53-10-111","next":"us-tn/tenn.-code-ann.-53-10-113"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}