Under what condition can the Board of Pharmacy adopt an emergency rule for a substance?

The adoption of an emergency rule by the Board of Pharmacy is primarily driven by the necessity to address immediate public health and safety concerns regarding substances that may pose risks due to their use or distribution. When a substance has been emergency scheduled by the DEA, it indicates that there is an urgent need to regulate that substance because it may lead to an imminent danger to the public. This classification is often applied to new drugs that have shown a high potential for abuse and thus require immediate regulatory action to prevent misuse and protect the community.

In such cases, the jurisdiction of the Board of Pharmacy allows for swift action to align state regulations with federal decisions, ensuring that local laws effectively respond to emerging threats posed by newly identified substances. This harmonization helps to maintain standards of practice and safeguard public health until more comprehensive regulations can be established through normal legislative processes.