DEA Places Heavy Restrictions on Vicodin and Other Hydrocodone Combination Drugs; Gives Stakeholders 45 Days to Adjust

  On Friday, August 22, the U. S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) published their Final Rule moving hydrocodone combination products (HCPs) from Schedule III to the more restrictive Schedule II. The change will take effect 45-days from the Final Rule, so likely on Monday, October 6. The Controlled Substances Act (CSA) places substances with accepted medical uses into one of four schedules, with substances with the highest potential for harm and abuse being placed in Schedule II, and substances with progressively less potential for harm and abuse being placed in Schedules III through V.  Schedule I is reserved for drugs with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.  The DEA may transfer drugs between schedules if they feel that more restrictions are needed for a particular product. They look at the drug’s potential for abuse, the potential to cause psychological or physical dependence, and whether it has a widely-accepted, current medical use. Interestingly, pure hydrocodone is already on Schedule II. Before the new Final Rule, lower amounts of hydrocodone per pill (15 milligrams or less) or lower-potency pills combined with another pain-killing drug, such as Vicodin (a mixture of hydrocodone and acetaminophen), were placed in the less-restrictive Schedule III. Now the DEA has moved anything with hydrocodone up the schedule. Many prescription drugs are not on listed on the schedule because they are not considered to have a pot...
Source: Policy and Medicine - Category: American Health Authors: Source Type: blogs