the act that restricted the sale of drugs by requiring a prescription was the
Prescription Drug Marketing Act The Prescription Drug Marketing Act (PDMA) of 1987 (P.L. 100-293, 102 Stat. 95) is a law of the United States federal government. It establishes legal safeguards for prescription drug distribution to ensure safe and effective pharmaceuticals. It's designed to discourage the sale of counterfeit, adulterated, misbranded, subpotent, and expired prescription drugs. It was passed in response to the development of a wholesale sub-market (known as the "diversion market") for prescription drugs.