Purposes; scope.

(a) The purposes of this part are:

(1) To license pharmacies and pharmacists;

(2) To register pharmacy interns;

(3) To regulate the practice of pharmacy; and

(4) To establish a Board of Pharmacy in the District of Columbia in order to protect the public health and welfare.

(b) This part shall not apply to:

(1) A duly licensed medical practitioner who personally dispenses or administers drugs or poisons as the practitioner deems proper in the treatment of the practitioner’s patients;

(2) The administering of drugs by a registered or licensed nurse under the direction of a medical practitioner to the practitioner’s patient or patients;

(3) Or otherwise interfere with the sale of over-the-counter drugs; or

(4) Any person who is a wholesaler or manufacturer, or any employee of such person, when engaged in the discharge of his or her official duties.

(c) Nothing in this part shall be construed as altering or affecting in any way laws of the District of Columbia or any federal act requiring a written prescription for controlled substances or other dangerous drugs.