During a controlled drugs audit, which medicine in the CD register requires legal storage under safe custody in a community pharmacy?

During a controlled drugs audit, which medicine in the CD register requires legal storage under safe custody in a community pharmacy?

• A. Morphine sulphate tablets
• B. Diazepam 5 mg tablets
• C. Tramadol 50 mg tablets
• D. Flunitrazepam 1 mg tablets

Answer: (D)

Safe custody means keeping certain controlled drugs in a locked cabinet or safe with restricted access and recording movements in the controlled drugs register. Flunitrazepam has historically required this elevated level of storage in community pharmacies because of its high potential for abuse and tighter regulatory controls. In practice, it must be stored under safe custody and logged separately in the CD register. The other options are controlled drugs too, but they don’t carry the same explicit safe custody requirement in routine community pharmacy practice, so they aren’t singled out for this in the audit.

Safe custody means keeping certain controlled drugs in a locked cabinet or safe with restricted access and recording movements in the controlled drugs register. Flunitrazepam has historically required this elevated level of storage in community pharmacies because of its high potential for abuse and tighter regulatory controls. In practice, it must be stored under safe custody and logged separately in the CD register. The other options are controlled drugs too, but they don’t carry the same explicit safe custody requirement in routine community pharmacy practice, so they aren’t singled out for this in the audit.