Department of Justice 2009 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This notice proposes the initial year 2010 Assessment of Annual Needs for certain List I chemicals in accordance with the Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act (CMEA) of 2005, enacted on March 9, 2006. The CMEA requires DEA to establish production quotas and import quotas for ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, and phenylpropanolamine. The CMEA places additional regulatory controls upon the manufacture, distribution, importation, and exportation of the three List I chemicals.

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is soliciting public comments on how best to standardize the specific internal code number associated with each individual practitioner permitted by the hospital or other institutional practitioner to administer, dispense, or prescribe controlled substances using that institution's DEA registration. DEA is taking this action in response to comments it received to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding electronic prescriptions for controlled substances.

Under this Interim Rule, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is updating the Table of Excluded Nonnarcotic Products found in 21 CFR 1308.22 to include the Nasal Decongestant Inhaler/Vapor Inhaler (containing 50 mg Levmetamfetamine) manufactured by Classic Pharmaceuticals LLC and marketed under various private labels (to include the ``Premier Value'' and ``Kroger'' labels). This nonnarcotic drug product, which may be lawfully sold over the counter without a prescription under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 301), is excluded from provisions of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) pursuant to 21 U.S.C. 811(g)(1).

The Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) strongly believe that a competitive agriculture sector is vitally important to producers and consumers alike. To this end, the DOJ and USDA, with the participation of State Attorneys General, intend to hold a series of public workshops to explore competition issues affecting the agricultural sector in the 21st Century and the appropriate role for antitrust and regulatory enforcement in that sector. Agricultural producers and their representatives have expressed concerns about changes in the agricultural marketplace, including increasing processor concentration in some commodities. There have been several congressional oversight hearings related to competition in the agricultural sector, as well as legislative proposals to restrict the activities of agricultural processors and intensify federal government scrutiny of agricultural mergers.