Drug Enforcement Administration August 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

With the issuance of this final rule, the Deputy Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) places the substance embutramide, including its salts, into Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). As a result of this rule, the regulatory controls and criminal sanctions of Schedule III will be applicable to the manufacture, distribution, dispensing, importation and exportation of embutramide and products containing embutramide.

This notice proposes initial year 2007 aggregate production quotas for controlled substances in Schedules I and II of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA).

This Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) proposes changes in the regulation of the listed chemical iodine pursuant to the chemical regulatory provisions of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) believes that this action is necessary in order to remove deficiencies in the current regulatory controls, which are being exploited by drug traffickers who divert iodine (in the form of iodine crystals and iodine tincture) for the illicit production of methamphetamine in clandestine drug laboratories. This NPRM proposes (1) the movement of iodine from List II to List I; (2) a reduction in the iodine threshold from 0.4 kilograms to zero kilograms; (3) the addition of import and export regulatory controls; and (4) the control of chemical mixtures containing greater than 2.2 percent iodine. This NPRM proposes regulatory controls that will apply to iodine crystals and iodine chemical mixtures that contain greater than 2.2 percent iodine. This regulation will therefore control iodine crystals and strong iodine tinctures/solutions (e.g., 7 percent iodine) that do not have common household uses and instead have limited application in livestock, horses and for disinfection of equipment. Household products such as 2 percent iodine tincture/solution and household disinfectants containing iodine complexes will not be adversely impacted by this regulation. If finalized as proposed, persons conducting regulated transactions involving iodine would need to be registered with the DEA, would be subject to import/export notification requirements of the CSA, and would be required to maintain records of all regulated transactions involving iodine regardless of size.

The DEA is soliciting information on substances that are related in chemical structure to tryptamine (see SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION). The Controlled Substances Act (CSA), in Title 21 of the United States Code (U.S.C. 812(c) Schedule I (Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR 1308.11(d)), lists certain tryptamines as Schedule I controlled substances. Some tryptamines that are not controlled under the CSA produce central nervous system effects that are similar to tryptamines that are controlled under the CSA. DEA is requesting information to help determine the impact on business if these substances were to be placed under control in the CSA.