Drug Enforcement Administration 2017 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration is issuing this notice of intent to publish a temporary order to schedule the synthetic cannabinoid, Methyl 2-(1-(4-fluorobenzyl)-1H-indazole-3- carboxamido)-3-methylbutanoate [FUB-AMB, MMB-FUBINACA, AMB-FUBINACA], into Schedule I. This action is based on a finding by the Administrator that the placement of this synthetic cannabinoid into Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act is necessary to avoid an imminent hazard to the public safety. When it is issued, the temporary scheduling order will impose the administrative, civil, and criminal sanctions and regulatory controls applicable to Schedule I controlled substances under the Controlled Substances Act on the manufacture, distribution, possession, importation, exportation of, and research and conduct with, instructional activities of this synthetic cannabinoid.

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) proposes to establish the 2018 aggregate production quotas for controlled substances in schedules I and II of the Controlled Substances Act and assessment of annual needs for the list I chemicals ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, and phenylpropanolamine.

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is finalizing the designation of the chemical alpha-phenylacetoacetonitrile (APAAN) and its salts, optical isomers, and salts of optical isomers, as a list I chemical under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). The DEA proposed control of APAAN, due to its use in clandestine laboratories to illicitly manufacture the schedule II controlled substances phenylacetone (also known as phenyl-2-propanone or P2P), methamphetamine, and amphetamine. This rulemaking finalizes, without change, the control of APAAN as a list I chemical. This action does not establish a threshold for domestic and international transactions of APAAN. As such, all transactions involving APAAN, regardless of size, shall be regulated. In addition, chemical mixtures containing APAAN are not exempt from regulatory requirements at any concentration. Therefore, all transactions of chemical mixtures containing any quantity of APAAN shall be regulated pursuant to the CSA. However, manufacturers may submit an application for exemption for those mixtures that do not qualify for automatic exemption.

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) proposes to remove naldemedine (4R,4aS,7aR,12bS)-3-(cyclopropylmethyl)-4a,7,9-trihydroxy- N-(2-(3-phenyl-1,2,4-oxadiazol-5-yl)propan-2-yl)-2,3,4,4a,5,7 a- hexahydro-1H-4,12-methanobenzofuro[3,2-e]isoquinoline-6-carbo xamide) including its salts from the schedules of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). This action is pursuant to the CSA which requires that such actions be made on the record after opportunity for a hearing through formal rulemaking. Naldemedine is currently a schedule II controlled substance because it can be derived from opium alkaloids. This action would remove the regulatory controls and administrative, civil, and criminal sanctions applicable to controlled substances, including those specific to schedule II controlled substances, on persons who handle (manufacture, distribute, reverse distribute, dispense, conduct research, import, export, or conduct chemical analysis) or propose to handle naldemedine.

The applications for exempt chemical preparations received by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) between April 1, 2016, and December 31, 2016, as listed below, were accepted for filing and have been approved or denied as indicated.