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Ohio News: Last Minute Bills Approved by the Legislature
Published in the February 2009 Ohio State Board of Pharmacy Newsletter
During the last session of the 127th General Assembly, several bills were approved by the Legislature that could affect pharmacy practice. There were also several bills that did not get approved. The bills that were approved were SB 203 (Pharmacy Technicians), HB 215 (Salvia Divinorum), and HB 130.
SB 203 is a bill that addresses the functions and requirements of pharmacy technicians. For the first time, pharmacy technicians in Ohio now have requirements that must be met before they may routinely perform three tasks:
- Engage in the compounding of any drug
- Package or label any drug
- Prepare or mix any intravenous drug to be injected into a human being
The requirements that must be met before a person routinely performs these three functions are:
- Must be eighteen (18) years of age or older
- Must possess a high school diploma or a certification of high school equivalence (except those employed on the effective date of the law)
- Must pass an examination approved by the Board
- Must submit to a criminal records check that shows no felony convictions
There are some exceptions to each of those requirements that will be clarified further as the implementation date arrives. The Board is required to promulgate rules about acceptable tests and will probably need to clarify other issues as well.
At the time of the writing of this Newsletter, the bill had been sent to the governor for his signature. The bill will become effective 90 days after his signature, meaning that it will probably take effect in March 2009. The Board will need to be ready with rules by then or shortly thereafter. Of course, the governor has the right to veto the bill if he chooses. Hopefully, that will not be the case.
HB 215 makes Salvia divinorum (and its active ingredient Salvinorin A) a Schedule I controlled substance in Ohio. If you are not familiar with Salvia, you should probably take the time to learn about its properties. It is becoming widely abused as a hallucinogen. Even though it is not a controlled substance federally, the Drug Enforcement Administration has an excellent article on this substance at www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/drugs_concern/salvia_d/salvia_d.htm. (Instead of typing all of the address, you can go to the main Web site at www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov and search for “Salvia” to find the article.)
HB 130 (DYS Operations) deals mostly with issues involving the Department of Youth Services and the Department of Rehab/Corrections. However, included in the bill is a section that would require all boards who issue licenses to create a rule listing all those sections of law for which a felony conviction would result in an immediate denial of licensure without a hearing. Some boards do have that ability to deny licensure without a hearing, but the Board of Pharmacy does not. The only way the Board of Pharmacy may deny a license is after having a hearing where the prospective licensee has the opportunity to meet with the Board.
In a past Newsletter, HB 253 was discussed. This bill would have allowed advanced practice nurses (APN) to prescribe Schedule II controlled substances. Please note: This bill did not pass. Pharmacists need to be aware of this failure as we have been hearing in the Board office that some APNs mistakenly believe they may now write for Ritalin®, Concerta®, and other Schedule II controlled substances. Since the bill failed to pass, the APN prescribing abilities have not changed.
