On Friday, August 1, President Obama signed into law an American Horse Council (AHC) supported bill, the Veterinary Medicine Mobility Act, making it legal for veterinarians to provide the care necessary to horses away from their licensed place of practice and across state lines.
Previously, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) believed that veterinarians were in violation of the Controlled Substance Act (CSA) and prohibited them from transporting, administering or dispensing any controlled substances that are necessary for the veterinarian when attempting to care for the safety and well-being of the horse beyond their licensed locations.
The new language reads, “a registrant who is a veterinarian shall not be required to have a separate registration in order to transport and dispense controlled substances in the usual course of veterinary practice at a site other than the registrant’s registered principal place of business or professional practice, so long as the site of transporting and dispensing is located in a State where the veterinarian is licensed to practice veterinary medicine and is not a principal place of business or professional practice.”
The AHC is unaware of how the DEA will react to this or whether they will issue new guidance or change their registration process in any way to reflect this new provision.
The AHC would like to thank Congress and the President for this important legislation that allows veterinarians to continue caring for the well-being of horses without any fear of being in violation of the CSA.
