Controlled Substance Laws
The Controlled Substances Act aims to enhance the oversight of controlled substances by regulating their manufacturing, importation, exportation, distribution, and dispensing. The Act categorizes substances into five schedules based on factors like medical use, potential for abuse, and safety. The Act defines who enforces these regulations, and the penalties for failure to comply.
Originally enacted in 1995, this law has been updated to reflect the Controlled Substance Database (CSD) utilization expectations and prescriber education.
The division grants access to the database to a licensed practitioner having authority to prescribe controlled substances, to the extent the information follows the details specified in this law. It outlines the patient situations that warrant searching the Controlled Substance Database and which situations allow the practitioner to allow others to search on their behalf.
A prescriber shall check the database for information about a patient before the first time the prescriber issues a prescription to a patient for a Schedule II or III opioid.
A prescriber is also required to periodically check the database if the prescriber is repeatedly prescribing Schedule II or III opioids to a patient.
A controlled substance prescriber shall complete at least 3.5 hours of continuing education in one or more controlled substance prescribing classes, except dentists who shall complete at least two hours, that satisfy the requirements of Subsections (2)(b)(i – iii). SBIRT training is required (3.5 hours), starting January 1, 2024 which fulfills the licensing requirements for CE for the licensing period it was completed in and is only required to take it one time.
The division has created a 20 minute tutorial to be taken when registering for the Controlled Substance Database, it contains basic knowledge and laws regarding the Database.
All Controlled Substance licenses (except veterinarians) must register with the division to use the database within 30 days after the day on which they obtain a license to prescribe a controlled substance form the Drug Enforcement Administration.
To register your Utah Controlled Substance license number with the Federal DEA, contact 571-387-2554 or visit deadiversion.usdoj.gov
If you cannot obtain a Utah Federal DEA number within 120 days of obtaining your Utah CS license you will no longer be in compliance with Utah code and your Utah license could incur disciplinary action and may be turned over to investigations.
Failure by an individual to comply with the requirements of this section is grounds for the division to take the following actions:
- Refuse to issue a license to the individual
- Refuse to renew the individual’s license
- Revoke, suspend, restrict, or place on probation the license
Effective 5/1/2024, gabapentin became a Schedule V Controlled Substance.
Before prescribing a high-risk medication like an opiate or benzodiazepine for longer than 30 days, a healthcare provider must check the Controlled Substance Database to ensure the patient doesn’t already have an active benzodiazepine or opiate prescription from another provider. If they find an active prescription, they must consult with those providers and document in the patient’s medical record the reasons for issuing another prescription.
A prescription for a Schedule II substance may not be refilled or filled in a quantity to exceed a one-month’s supply as directed on the daily dosage rate of the prescriptions. However, a practitioner can give multiple prescriptions for the same Schedule II controlled substance with these conditions:
- No more than three prescriptions can be given simultaneously
- Each prescription cannot exceed a 30-day supply
- Subsequent prescriptions must include both the date of issuance and the dispensing date
A prescription for an opiate, Schedule II or III, issued for an acute condition can be completely or partially filled in a quantity of up to a seven-day supply as directed on the daily dosage rate of the prescription.
Prescription for opiate antagonist required
Prior to prescribing opiates for the first time, a provider must discuss with the patient (or guardian if under 18) the risks of addiction and overdose, the dangers of combining opiates with substances like alcohol and benzodiazepines, the necessity of the prescription, available alternative treatments, and any other associated risks.
Exceptions: A patient who is: Currently in active treatment for cancer, receiving hospice care from a licensed hospice, or prescribed medication for the treatment of the patient’s substance abuse or opiate dependence.
Beginning January 2024, a provider shall offer to prescribe or dispense an opiate antagonist to a patient if the patient receives an initial opiate:
- 50 morphine milligram equivalents or more per day
- Any opiate if the practitioner is also prescribing a benzodiazepine to the patient
Exceptions: If the first opiate prescription is given directly to a patient by a licensed practitioner or is for a three-day supply or less.
The division shall grant access to the database to an employee of a practitioner that is accessing the database for the same purpose as the practitioner if:
- The employee is designated by the practitioner as an individual authorized to access the information on behalf of the practitioner
- The practitioner provides written notice to the division of the identity of the employee
- The division grants the employee access to the database and provides the employee with a password
A practitioner may designate one or more employees to access information from the database. The division shall run a background check on designee and grant access based on the background check.
An individual can ask the division to share their controlled substance prescription details with a designated third party each time a prescription is dispensed. They can also instruct the division to stop sharing this information with the third party by giving written notice. Once notified, the division will stop sharing information with the third party as directed by the individual.
