States Can Make Drug Regulations Stricter

Lisa Penny, RPh, FSVHP, director of pharmacy at the Cornell University Hospital for Animals, explains how and why states sometimes change drug regulations.

In New York, benzodiazepines are treated as Schedule II drugs, but these are treated as Schedule IV drugs by federal law. Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) is not controlled by federal level, but is treated as a Schedule IV drug in New York.

If state and federal laws differ, you need to follow whichever law is stricter. While states can't schedule a drug down, they can make a drug much more stricter.