You are asked to speak to a college class. In the course of the class, a student asks you to define and differentiate the difference between Schedule IV and Schedule V drugs. What would you say?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

The drug or other substance has a low potential for abuse relative to the drugs or other substances in Schedule III. The drug or other substance has a currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States. Abuse of the drug or other substance may lead to limited physical dependence or psychological dependence relative to the drugs or other substances in Schedule III.
The vast majority of Schedule IV drugs used for illicit purposes are either prescription narcotics or depressants, which produce milder mental and physiological effects than drugs listed at higher schedule levels. These drugs appear in pills or capsules of various colors and shapes, and may also bear an identifying symbol impressed on their surface by the pharmaceutical manufacturer. These drugs are usually swallowed by abusers, but they can also be smoked, injected, or snorted by grinding pills and capsules to a water-soluble powder. The drug or other substance has a low potential for abuse relative to the drugs or other substances in Schedule IV. The drug or other substance has a currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States. Abuse of the drugs or other substances may lead to limited physical dependence or psychological dependence relative to the drugs or other substances in Schedule IV. Relatively few Schedule V drugs are sold on the street due to their lack of potency. Quite often, these drugs are used by teenagers for experimental purposes. They may be used by seasoned abusers as a last resort when their drug of choice is unavailable. Commonly, these substances are taken for the secondary pharmaceuticals they contain; for example, cough syrups or mild pain relief formulas containing the narcotic Codeine or its chemical derivative, or the stimulant pseudoephedrine.