I. A pharmacist, in good faith and in the course of his or her professional practice, may sell and dispense controlled drugs exempt under the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970, as amended, and federal food and drug laws from prescription requirements. A pharmacist, in good faith, may sell and dispense controlled drugs requiring prescriptions to any person upon the written or electronically transmitted prescription of a practitioner, provided it is properly executed, dated and when required by law, manually or electronically signed by the person prescribing on the day when issued and bears the full name and address of the patient for whom, or of the owner of the animal for which, the drug is dispensed, or upon oral prescription, in pursuance of regulations promulgated by the Department of Justice of the United States, under the provisions of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970, as amended where applicable, provided said oral prescription is promptly reduced to writing by the pharmacist or authorized technician, stating the name of the practitioner so prescribing, the date, the full name and address of the patient for whom, or the owner of the animal for which, the drug is dispensed, and, in all instances, the full name, address and registry number under the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970, as amended, or federal food and drug laws of the person so prescribing. If the prescription is for an animal, it shall state the species of animal for which the drug is prescribed. The person filling the prescription shall indicate the date of filling and his or her name on the face or record of the prescription. The prescription shall be retained on file by the proprietor of the pharmacy in which it is filled for a period of 4 years so as to be readily accessible for the inspection of any officers engaged in the enforcement of this chapter. The prescription as to a controlled drug may be refilled pursuant to the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970, as amended. The person refilling a prescription for a controlled drug shall record on the prescription record the date of refill, the quantity dispensed, and his or her initials.
II. The legal owner of any stock of controlled drugs in a pharmacy, upon discontinuance of dealing in said drugs, may sell said stock to a manufacturer, wholesaler, or registered pharmacy but only upon an official written order, and in accordance with the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970, as amended, and regulations where applicable. A licensed pharmacy only upon an official written order may sell controlled drugs in schedule II to a practitioner to be used for medical purposes.
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Terms Used In New Hampshire Revised Statutes 318-B:9

  • Controlled drugs: means any drug or substance, or immediate precursor, which is scheduled pursuant to N. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 318-B:1
  • Department: means the department of health and human services. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 318-B:1
  • Dispense: means to distribute, leave with, give away, dispose of, deliver, or sell one or more doses of and shall include the transfer of more than a single dose of a medication from one container to another and the labelling or otherwise identifying a container holding more than a single dose of a drug. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 318-B:1
  • Federal food and drug laws: means the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, as amended (Title 21 U. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 318-B:1
  • following: when used by way of reference to any section of these laws, shall mean the section next preceding or following that in which such reference is made, unless some other is expressly designated. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 21:13
  • justice: when applied to a magistrate, shall mean a justice of a municipal court, or a justice of the peace having jurisdiction over the subject-matter. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 21:12
  • Manufacturer: means a person who, by compounding, mixing, cultivating, growing or other process, produces or prepares controlled drugs, but shall not mean a pharmacist who compounds controlled drugs to be sold or dispensed on prescription. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 318-B:1
  • month: shall mean a calendar month, and the word "year" a calendar year, unless otherwise expressed; and the word "year" shall be equivalent to the expression "year of our Lord. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 21:8
  • Official written order: means an order written on a form provided for that purpose by the United States Attorney General under the laws of the United States making provision therefor, if such order forms are authorized and required by federal law, or conforming to the requirements of such a form and provided by the department of health and human services, or, if no such order form is provided, on an official form provided for that purpose by the department of health and human services. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 318-B:1
  • Person: means any corporation, association or partnership, or one or more individuals. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 318-B:1
  • Pharmacist: means a person authorized by law to practice pharmacy pursuant to RSA 318. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 318-B:1
  • Pharmacy: means an establishment licensed pursuant to RSA 318. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 318-B:1
  • Physician: means a person authorized by law to practice medicine in this state pursuant to RSA 329. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 318-B:1
  • Practitioner: means any person who is lawfully entitled to prescribe, administer, dispense or distribute controlled drugs to patients. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 318-B:1
  • Prescription: means an oral, written, or facsimile or electronically transmitted order for any controlled drug or preparation issued by a licensed practitioner to be compounded and dispensed by a pharmacist and delivered to a patient for a medicinal or therapeutic purpose arising from a practitioner-patient relationship. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 318-B:1
  • Registry number: means the number assigned to each person registered under the federal narcotic laws. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 318-B:1
  • state: when applied to different parts of the United States, may extend to and include the District of Columbia and the several territories, so called; and the words "United States" shall include said district and territories. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 21:4
  • United States: shall include said district and territories. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 21:4
  • Wholesaler: means a person who supplies or distributes controlled drugs that he himself has not produced or prepared to hospitals, practitioners, pharmacies, other wholesalers, manufacturers or federal, state and municipal agencies. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 318-B:1

III. Prescriptions issued by practitioners for controlled drugs shall be executed in clear, concise, readable form. Each prescription shall contain the following information and comply with the following requirements:
(a) The full name and complete address of the patient or of the owner of the animal for which the drug is prescribed.
(b) The day, month, and year the prescription is issued.
(c) The name of the controlled drug prescribed. Only one controlled drug shall appear on a prescription blank.
(d) The strength of the controlled drug prescribed.
(e) The specific directions for use of the controlled drug by the patient.
(f) No refills shall be authorized for controlled drugs in schedule II of the current chapter 21, Code of Federal Regulations.
(g) The federal Drug Enforcement Administration registration number of the practitioner.
(h) The practitioner shall manually or electronically sign the prescription on the date of issuance.
(i) The practitioner’s full name shall be printed, rubber stamped, or typewritten above or below the manual or electronic signature.
(j) A practitioner shall not issue a prescription in order to obtain controlled substances for the purpose of general dispensing to his or her patients.
(k) A practitioner shall not issue a prescription to himself or herself or his or her immediate family which includes a spouse, children or parents.
(l) A prescription shall be deemed invalid if it is not filled within 6 months from the date prescribed.

[Paragraph IV effective until January 1, 2024; see also paragraph IV set out below.]


IV. No prescription shall be filled for more than a 34-day supply upon any single filling for controlled drugs of schedules II or III; provided, however, that for controlled drugs, in schedules II or III, that are commercially packaged for dispensing directly to the patient, such as metered sprays and inhalers, liquids packaged in bottles with calibrated droppers, and certain topical preparations packaged with metered dispensing pumps may be filled for greater than a 34-day supply, but not more than 60 days, utilizing the smallest available product size, in order to maintain the dosing integrity of the commercially packaged containers; and, provided that with regard to amphetamines and methylphenidate hydrochloride, a prescription may be filled for up to a 90-day supply if either such prescription specifies it is being used for the treatment of attention deficit disorder, attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity, or narcolepsy.

[Paragraph IV effective January 1, 2024; see also paragraph IV set out above.]


IV. No prescription shall be filled for more than a 34-day supply upon any single filling for controlled drugs of schedules II or III; provided, however, that for controlled drugs, in schedules II or III, that are commercially packaged for dispensing directly to the patient, such as metered sprays and inhalers, liquids packaged in bottles with calibrated droppers, and certain topical preparations packaged with metered dispensing pumps may be filled for greater than a 34-day supply, but not more than 60 days, utilizing the smallest available product size, in order to maintain the dosing integrity of the commercially packaged containers; and, provided that:
(a) With regard to amphetamines and methylphenidate hydrochloride, a prescription may be filled for up to a 90-day supply if either such prescription specifies it is being used for the treatment of attention deficit disorder, attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity, or narcolepsy; and
(b) With regard to a topically applied androgen, a prescription may be filled for up to a 90-day supply if the prescription specifies it is being used for the treatment of chronic low testosterone replacement therapy.
V. Notwithstanding the provisions of N.H. Rev. Stat. § 318-B:26, it shall be a misdemeanor for a practitioner to issue or a pharmacist to fill a prescription that does not meet the requirements of this section.
VI. A pharmacist employed by a pharmacy located in a hospital may dispense cannabis-type drugs prescribed under N.H. Rev. Stat. § 318-B:10, VI, to any person upon the written prescription of an attending physician, provided it is properly executed, dated, and signed by the person prescribing on the day when issued and bears the full name and address of the patient for whom the drug is dispensed. The pharmacist filling the prescription shall write the date of filling and his own signature on the face of the prescription.