State Board of Pharmacy proposes schedule updates to add fentanyl analogues, synthetic cannabinoids and an exception for an FDA‑approved psilocybin drug

The Senate Judiciary Committee heard testimony on Senate Bill 2064 from Mark Hardy, executive director of the North Dakota State Board of Pharmacy, who asked lawmakers to update the state’s controlled‑substances lists to reflect recent federal scheduling actions and to add several newly identified synthetic compounds.

Hardy said the bill mirrors a series of DEA scheduling notices that added numerous fentanyl analogues, substituted cathinones, synthetic cannabinoids and additional designer anabolic steroids. He told the committee the Board of Pharmacy drafts state scheduling language in coordination with the Attorney General’s Office and the state crime lab to make sure law enforcement and prosecutors have tools to address rapidly evolving illicit compounds.

Hardy also proposed a narrow statutory accommodation for a pharmaceutical compound undergoing FDA trials: a specific exception so that a psilocybin‑based drug under FDA review for treatment‑resistant depression would not remain classified as Schedule I if approved as a prescription medication. He provided examples of prior carve‑outs for FDA‑approved cannabinoid therapies and said the amendment would similarly allow patient access if the drug is approved and scheduled at the federal level.

The committee recorded a favorable recommendation by roll call and assigned a senator to carry the bill forward.

Ending note: The bill updates multiple schedules to align with federal action, adds newly identified designer compounds, and includes an explicit path for an FDA‑approved psilocybin pharmaceutical to be prescribed under state law.