Jurisdiction-Specific Statutes, Board Rules, and Regulatory Guidance
The state layer
Every state has a pharmacy practice act (statute) and board regulations (rules). Statutes outrank rules, and a rule that conflicts with its statute is invalid. The practice act supplies the definitions that drive exam questions: what counts as the practice of pharmacy, dispensing, compounding, and pharmacist care; who may own a pharmacy; what a pharmacist-in-charge must do; technician registration and permitted tasks; ratios; immunization and collaborative practice authority; emergency refills; therapeutic interchange and generic substitution; nonresident pharmacy registration; PDMP query and reporting duties; CE hours and renewal cycles; and grounds for discipline.
State controlled substance schedules can depart from federal ones (a drug may be scheduled by the state, or placed in a different schedule), and state rules frequently add requirements the CSA does not: prescription expiration dates, PMP checks before dispensing, quantity limits, and prescriber-ID rules.
Traps
Questions often hinge on a jurisdiction cue in the stem. "Federal" points to the CSA; "in this state" points to your board's rules, which you are expected to know cold. The most common error is assuming federal permission equals state permission. Where both apply, comply with the stricter requirement: a DEA registration confers no authority to dispense without a valid state license, and a state license does not excuse a federal violation. Watch also for rules that impose obligations on the pharmacy (records, security, signage) rather than on the pharmacist personally.
Rule of thumb
The federal rule is a floor, not a ceiling. If federal law permits and state law prohibits, you may not; if state law is silent, the federal rule controls.
Worked example
A pharmacist holds a DEA registration and a valid license in State A, and is asked to verify prescriptions at a State B pharmacy by remote connection. State B's practice act and nonresident/in-state licensure rules decide whether that is permissible; DEA registration is irrelevant to that question.