Committee adopts strike-all to add 13 compounds, aligning state schedule with DEA listings

The Senate Drug Policy Committee moved to adopt a strike-all to House Bill 417 to add 13 compounds to Schedule I and reported the bill out of committee.

Chair introduced the measure as a technical update replacing the original house text; counsel determined the house version relied on outdated correspondence and the senate strike‑all reflects the most recent language from the State Board of Pharmacy and the Mississippi State Department of Health. A Department of Health pharmacist, Anna Catherine Lambert, told the panel: "So every year, we go through the DEA's federal register to see what they have scheduled in the previous 12 months." Lambert said the strike‑all aims "to make sure that all new substances that includes their salts, isomers, everything are included based off what the DEA has already scheduled federally." The witness added the committee's approach is to match federal language verbatim.

Senator Dupree asked whether the entries are Schedule I and why there appear to be so many listings. Lambert explained that salts and isomers are listed separately in legal language, which multiplies the number of legal entries even when the underlying chemical family is limited. Chair stated the strike‑all adds 13 specific compounds; members were directed to the underlying strike‑all text for the precise chemical descriptions and statutory language. The transcript records Chair calling for adoption of the strike‑all and a subsequent motion that the title is sufficient; Chair stated, "That bill will be reported." The transcript does not include a roll‑call tally or recorded vote counts.