Legislation should allow access to unregistered drug products in special or emergency situations. In general, either the patient has a severe or life-threatening illness and existing therapy has failed, or the disease is a rare one for which specialist medicines do not have a local marketing authorization. In many cases the drugs are still experimental, or at any rate unproven, and the government is not obliged to fund their supply. Care is necessary in the administration of these schemes to avoid de facto marketing.