1712 Carey Ave. Ste 200 Cheyenne, WY 82002
Phone: 307-634-9636 Fax: 307-634-6335 bop@wyo.gov
The Wyoming State Board of Pharmacy proposes to amend Chapters 8, 13, 17, 18, and 22 of the Wyoming Pharmacy Act Rules and Regulations in order to modernize, reorganize and simplify the Board’s Rules and Regulations.
On January 29, 2025, emergency rules were approved. Specifically, Chapter 8 Wholesale Distributor Regulations now clarify that veterinary prescription drug wholesalers may sell or deliver non-controlled substance veterinary medications to a person responsible for the control of a “livestock animal,” as that term is defined in Wyo. Stat. § 11-29-101(a)(vi), and subject to specified conditions. The Board proposes to permanently revise Chapter 8 to continue to allow this practice.
The Board also proposes to repeal Chapter 13 Non-Sterile Compounding and Chapter 17 Sterile Compounding in order to create a new Chapter 22 Compounding. The new Chapter 22 incorporates United States Pharmacopoeia (USP) chapters 795 Pharmaceutical Compounding – Nonsterile Preparations, 797 Pharmaceutical Compounding – Sterile Preparations, 800 Hazardous Drugs—Handling in Healthcare Set-tings, and 825 Radiopharmaceuticals – Preparation, Compounding, Dispensing, and Repackaging by refer-ence as allowed by Wyo. Stat. § 33-24-127(a). The Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 established USP as the standard of purity, strength, and quality for medications in the United States. USP is part of The Joint Commission’s survey and is recognized by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services as the minimum threshold for quality that hospitals and Critical Access Hospitals (s) must meet. Additionally, more than forty-five (45) states require compliance with USP, whether through statute or rule.
The Board proposes to remove Chapter 18’s requirement that pharmacists must successfully complete a minimum of one hour of an ACPE-accredited CE program related to the use of opiate antagonists prior to prescribing. Narcan (naloxone) was first approved by the FDA in 2015 as a prescription drug and is the standard treatment for opioid overdose. Narcan (naloxone) has since been approved for over-the-counter, nonprescription, use. Additionally, Wyo. Stat. Title 35, Ch. 4, Art. 9 Emergency Administration Of Medical Treatment Act does not require pharmacists or other health care practitioners to complete additional CE prior to prescribing epinephrine auto-injectors or opiate antagonists.
As required by Wyoming Statute § 16-3-103(a)(i)(G), these rules meet minimum substantive state statutory requirements.
Chapter 8 Wholesale Distributor Regulations:
Section 9 is revised to clarify that veterinary prescription drug wholesalers may sell or deliver non-controlled substance veterinary medications to a person responsible for the control of a livestock animal, as defined in Wyo. Stat. § 11-29-101(a)(vi) subject to certain conditions:
A licensed veterinarian has issued a written a prescription order in the course of an existing, valid veterinarian-client-patient relationship;
The prescription order becomes void after two years, unless the veterinarian specifies a shorter expiration date;
The veterinary prescription drug wholesale distributor shall not distribute larger quantities than the order authorizes and must sell the non-controlled substance prescription drug(s) in the original, unbroken manufacturer’s containers;
Records must be retained as specified.
Sections 13 and 16 are updated to current organization standards.
Chapter 13 Non-Sterile Compounding - Repealed
Chapter 17 Sterile Compounding - Repealed
Chapter 18 Prescribing by Pharmacists
Section 4(b) is deleted and the section is reorganized accordingly.
Chapter 22 Compounding
A new chapter is created incorporating USP Chapters 795, 797, 800, and 825 by reference.
The Board has determined that posting the incorporated material on the Internet would constitute a violation of federal copyright law.
The copyrighted incorporated material will be available for public inspection and examination, but may not be copied, at the Wyoming Department of Health, 2300 Capitol Avenue, Cheyenne, Wyoming 82002, and at the Wyoming State Board of Pharmacy, 1712 Carey Avenue, Suite 200, Cheyenne, Wyoming 82002.
Requests for copies of the proposed revisions may be addressed to the Board executive director at 1712 Carey Avenue, Suite 200, Cheyenne, WY 82002. The proposed revisions are posted on the Wyoming Secretary of State and the Wyoming State Board of Pharmacy websites.
Comments may be submitted to the Board by mail using the address above or to bop@wyo.gov on or before June 13, 2025, at 5 PM MDT.
Business licenses (resident pharmacies, nonresident pharmacies, wholesale distributors, etc.), business-controlled substance registrations, and individual controlled substance registrant renewals are now open. Click below to learn more and renew your license.
Individual controlled substance registrants (MD, DO, PA, APRN, DDS, DVM, etc.)
Resident pharmacies (resident retail and resident institutional)
Wholesale distributors of prescription drugs for human use, veterinary use, or medical oxygen
The Wyoming State Board of Pharmacy has proposed Emergency Rules for the Wyoming Pharmacy Act Rules, Chapter 8 Wholesale Distributor Regulations. On June 10, 2021, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) finalized Guidance for Industry #263 (GFI 263), which outlines the process for animal drug sponsors (the entity responsible for developing and selling animal drugs) to voluntarily change the approved marketing status of medically important veterinarian drugs from over-the-counter (OTC) to prescription (Rx). GFI 263 went into effect in June 2023.
This change made these drugs only useable under the supervision of a licensed veterinarian pursuant to a prescription. Other states enacted state specific legislation and/or rules in response to GFI 263. Wyo. Stat. § 33-24-153 requires the Board of Pharmacy to issue an order to cease distribution to a drug distributor if the distributor has sold, distributed or transferred a prescription drug to a person who is not authorized to receive the prescription drug under the law of the jurisdiction in which the person receives the prescription drug.
Because of GFI 263, other states regulations, and the language in Wyo. Stat. § 33-24-153, wholesale distributors of veterinary medications have recently begun to refuse to sell or deliver veterinary prescription drugs to Wyoming ranchers and livestock owners. On January 6, 2025, Board of Pharmacy staff were notified of this situation and the need for immediate action by the Wyoming Livestock Board.
The emergency rule clarifies that veterinary prescription drug wholesalers may sell or deliver non-controlled substance veterinary medications to a person responsible for the control of a livestock animal, as defined in Wyo. Stat. § 11-29-101(a)(vi) subject to specified conditions. The emergency rule was approved by Governor Gordon on January 29, 2025.
PREP Act immunity from liability was extended by HHS through through the final day of the applicable Declaration of Emergency, or December 2024 to pharmacists, pharmacy interns, and pharmacy technicians to administer COVID-19 and seasonal influenza vaccines (to those individuals three and over, consistent with other requirements), and COVID-19 tests, regardless of any USG agreement or emergency declaration. For additional information:
The Board's September 2022 newsletter had an article on the Healthcare Distribution Alliance Pharmaceutical Cargo Security Coalition's fraud alert that outlines some new methodologies that are being used to divert both small and large drug shipments. These schemes may involve the impersonation of regulatory personnel, including individuals from state boards of pharmacy and departments of health. They may also involve the impersonation of pharmacy or distributor staff.
Last week a pharmacy in Casper reported being contacted by a scammer posing as the Wyoming Board of Pharmacy, who tried to obtain their wholesale distributor account number. In 2022, a pharmacy in Rock Springs, WY, reported being contacted by a scammer posing as their distributor, who said that they had shipped product to the pharmacy in error and requested that the shipment be returned.
More information is available from the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy®. If you experience an attempt at this type of scam, please email cforsaith@hda.org so that it can be shared with law enforcement.
The Board office has received reports that pharmacists are receiving calls that appear to come from the Board office’s main phone number and that the caller identifies himself or herself as an agent with the Board. The caller is able to confirm some of the pharmacist’s information, such as license number, National Provider Identifier number, and place of employment.
In some cases, the caller accuses the pharmacist of having committed a violation, that his or her license may be suspended or revoked, and that the pharmacist will be arrested if he or she does not answer the caller’s questions. In some cases, the caller alleges that the pharmacist was involved in prescription drug trafficking. Some pharmacists have reported that the caller becomes aggressive and demanding, threatening to have the Federal Bureau of Investigation come and arrest the pharmacist if he or she does not comply.
The Wyoming State Board of Pharmacy will not contact or interact with you in this manner.
The Federal Trade Commission has useful consumer information on how to recognize and avoid phishing scams available at https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-recognize-and-avoid-phishing-scams. If you receive such a phone call, please call and report it to the Federal Communications Commission at 888/225- 5322.
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) issued a critical alert to healthcare professionals, warning of recent scam calls targeting doctors and pharmacists. Fraudsters are impersonating DEA agents to steal sensitive information and possibly extort money.
DEA personnel will never contact medical practitioners or members of the public by telephone to request personal or sensitive information, demand money or any other form of payment. Legitimate DEA agents will only notify individuals of investigations or legal actions in person or via official letter.
Reported scam tactics continually change but often share many of the same characteristics. Callers use names found online of well-known DEA officials, retired or former Special Agents, and/or police officers in local departments. Callers will also provide fake badge numbers. Additionally, they may:
use an urgent and aggressive tone.
threaten arrest, prosecution, imprisonment, and, in the case of medical practitioners and pharmacists, revocation of their DEA registration.
reference National Provider Identifier numbers and/or state license numbers when calling a medical practitioner. They also may claim that patients are making accusations against the practitioner.
ask for personal information, such as social security number or date of birth.
Protecting Against Identity Theft
The best deterrence against these bad actors is awareness and caution. Anyone receiving a call from a person claiming to be with DEA should report the incident to the FBI at www.ic3.gov. The Federal Trade Commission provides recovery steps, shares information with more than 3,000 law enforcement agencies and takes reports at reportfraud.ftc.gov.
Reporting these scam calls will help federal authorities find, arrest, and stop the criminals engaged in this fraud. Impersonating a federal agent is a violation of federal law, punishable by up to three years in prison; aggravated identity theft carries a mandatory minimum sentence of two years in prison plus fines and restitution.
The DEA is committed to protecting healthcare professionals from these fraudulent schemes. By raising awareness and encouraging prompt reporting, we can help to stop these criminals and ensure the safety and security of our nation's healthcare workforce.
The Board has received alerts from pharmacies that an individual or group of individuals are calling in prescriptions for Azithromycin, Ibuprofen, and Promethazine with Codeine. Most of the calls have allegedly come from practitioners in Washington. In some instances, they are asking for particular manufacturers of Promethazine with Codeine, attempting to call multiple sets of prescriptions in at one time, and have requested the pharmacy to ship into another state. The Board urges pharmacists to be cautious and to utilize their professional judgment when exercising their corresponding responsibility and to carefully evaluate such prescriptions for validity before dispensing.