T&T: Prescription Drugs for vessel master?

[Thomas Lawler]

My wife will be the medical officer (among other titles) on our upcoming 5
year cruise with our young daughter and she is putting together a medical
kit.  She has had some medical training in 27 years as a dental hygienist.
She can give shots (the non-drinkable ones), take blood pressure and even
has the stomach to stitch up wounds on several of our pets over the years.
She has already assembled most of the items that she either had from her
career or has purchased over the counter.  She is down to the prescription
type items that we will want to have aboard for a possible circumnavigation
(things like courses of antibiotics and pain killers we would want on hand
especially for some of the longer passages).  We plan to buys these just
before leaving to keep them as fresh as possible.

Our family doctor has not been approached yet, but my question concerns
getting drugs directly from a US pharmacy as the owner operator of a
documented vessel.  I seem to remember someone mentioning that vessel
masters (boat owners) can present certain papers (such as proof of vessel
documentation, a statement that the controlled drugs will be secured in a
medical kit for offshore use, and maybe others) and get a drug list filled
without a doctors prescription.  If anyone knows this to be true, can you
point me to a law or regulation that allows this.

We have a SSB aboard the boat and I can envision talking through most
medical problems over the phone with a (perhaps my current) doctor before
even considering administering drugs on my own, but having the proper drugs
at hand could be a lifesaver.

I appreciate any advice,

Tom Lawler
Emily Grace