Controlled Substances and Drug Enforcement
What this domain tests
New Hampshire enforces the federal Controlled Substances Act through DEA registration and enforcement, layered on RSA 318-B (the state Controlled Drug Act) and Board rules. Items cluster around schedule placement, ordering and receiving records, inventory, loss reporting, and corresponding responsibility.
Schedule anchors
- C-II: oxycodone, hydrocodone combinations, methadone, hydromorphone, amphetamine, methylphenidate.
- C-III: codeine-acetaminophen combinations, testosterone.
- C-IV: benzodiazepines, zolpidem, tramadol.
- C-V: pregabalin, low-strength codeine cough preparations.
Records and reporting
- DEA Form 222 or CSOS for Schedule II purchases; invoices for III–V; federal retention is two years.
- Biennial inventory of Schedule II taken on the exact date two years after the initial inventory, with the record retained.
- Theft or significant loss: notify DEA in writing within one business day of discovery (DEA Form 106) and notify the New Hampshire Board of Pharmacy.
- Dispensing data goes to the New Hampshire prescription monitoring program; incomplete or late submissions are compliance failures.
Worked example
A count shows 30 oxycodone 5 mg tablets missing. Reasoning: recount with a second person, reconcile invoices, 222/CSOS receipts, dispensing records, and returns. If the shortage is unexplained, it is a loss: file DEA Form 106 promptly, notify the Board, and correct the perpetual inventory. Filing a police report alone does not satisfy the DEA obligation, and waiting for the next biennial inventory is a separate violation.
Traps that cost marks
Treating "I was suspicious but filled it" as a defense - corresponding responsibility requires resolution of red flags before dispensing. Assuming Schedule V drugs escape recordkeeping. Scheduling a drug from memory when New Hampshire has added a substance by rule. Confusing the two-year record retention with a two-year inventory interval.