Editing Off-label use (section)

==Veterinary medicines==

The [[veterinarian]] has a much smaller [[pharmacopeia]] available than does the [[physician|human practitioner]]. Therefore, drugs are more likely to be used "off-label" – typically, this involves the use of a human medication in an animal, where there is no corresponding medication licensed for that species. This problem is compounded in "exotic" species (such as reptiles and rodents) where there are very few, if any licensed medications. In addition, especially in [[Europe]], [[equine veterinarian]]s are forced to use many drugs off-label, as the horse is classified as a "food-producing animal" and many veterinary drugs are labeled specifically not for use in animals intended for human consumption.

In the United States, this practice is permitted by the [[Animal Medicinal Drug Use Clarification Act of 1994]] (P.L. 103-396). The FDA specifically prohibits extralabel use of a number of antibiotics, anti-inflammatory drugs and hormones in food producing animals.   FDA also tightly controls the use of certain veterinary-prescribed drugs when administered in the feed of food-producing animals.<ref>[http://www.cnie.org/NLE/CRSreports/05jun/97-905.pdf "CRS Report for Congress: Agriculture: A Glossary of Terms, Programs, and Laws, 2005 Edition - Order Code 97-905"]. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130923055613/http://www.cnie.org/NLE/CRSreports/05jun/97-905.pdf |date=2013-09-23 }}.</ref>