Tramadol: Now a schedule IV controlled drug | Dr. Justine Lee

Posted by justinelee in Blog, Veterinary

According to the Drug Enforcement Adminstration (DEA), tramadol, a common pain medication used in both veterinary and human medicine, will become a schedule IV controlled substance effective August 18, 2014.

What does this mean to you as a veterinary professional?

For veterinarians who handle, stock, or dispense tramadol or tramadol-containing substances, they will be subject to the regulatory controls and administrative, civil, and criminal sanctions applicable to schedule IV controlled substances.  In other words, veterinary professions must ensure compliance with record keeping, security (e.g., kept in a drug box), registration and reporting requirements.

While tramadol has been assessed by the DEA as having a low potential for abuse as compared to schedule III drugs, the DEA concluded that abuse of trammel can lead to “limited physical or psychological dependence.”

Key steps you have to take as a veterinary professional?

• Make sure you are registered with the DEA or have an approved application for the use of tramadol as of August 18, 2014.
• Make sure to inventory all of your tramadol stock by August 18, 2014
• Make sure you maintain records just like with all your other controlled drugs
• If you as a veterinarian want to prescribe tramadol, make sure you have an up-to-date DEA registration number

Don’t want to deal with this? Make sure your clinic surrenders their stock of tramadol or transfers all quantities of tramadol to a person registered with the DEA by this deadline of August 18, 2014.