DEA rates climb

ALEXANDRIA, VA. — Veterinarians renewing their annual Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) registration will pay more after Nov. 1, as reported in a recent Federal Register.

Fees for controlled substances and chemical registrants will increase from $130 to $184 annually. Practitioners, mid-level practitioners, pharmacies, hospitals and clinics and teaching institutions will pay $551 for a three-year registration.

DEA claims the impact is "not significant." At $186, the fee represents less than .14 percent of the annual income of 86 percent of all practitioners who earn annual incomes in excess of $133,000, the agency says. By contrast, veterinarians, who make up five percent of licensees, earn an average yearly salary of $76,000. The increase represents .25 percent of their income, DEA officials say.

Because the increases are expected to garner less than $70 million annually, "this is not a significant regulatory action," DEA adds. The money funds DEA's Diversion Control Program, which establishes controls to prevent the diversion of controlled substances and chemicals for illegal uses.