FDA Advisory Committee Votes Not to Schedule Dextromethorpan

September 23, 2010 11:53 AM

On September 14, 2010, an FDA Drug Safety and Risk Management Committee voted against recommending that dextromethorpan be scheduled as a controlled substance. As reported in the September 9, 2010 e-News, the committee met in response to a DEA request that the Department of Health and Human Services provide a scientific and medical evaluation and scheduling recommendation for dextromethorphan. According to Medpage Today, while the committee discussed scheduling the drug due to the increase in dextromethorphan abuse, especially among adolescents, committee members also considered how scheduling the drug could have a negative impact on patients’ legitimate access to common cough suppressants.