HB382: HB382 Controlled substances; Schedule I; psilocybin; revise a provision

This bill, titled the 'Prescription Drug Security, Supervision, and Return Act,' makes two kinds of changes to Georgia law. First, it revises the definitions of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and psilocybin under Georgia's Schedule I controlled substances list (O.C.G.A. § 16-13-25) so that FDA-approved, DEA-scheduled drugs containing lysergide tartrate or crystalline polymorph psilocybin would not count as Schedule I substances. These changes only take effect if and when the federal government actually approves and schedules such a drug. Second, the bill updates Georgia's pharmacy laws (Title 26, Chapter 4). It sets a supervisory ratio of one pharmacist to four pharmacy technicians working on-site, but exempts technicians working remotely from that ratio count. It also updates certification requirements for technicians, expands how many pharmacy interns and externs a pharmacist can supervise, and removes a rule limiting when the State Board of Pharmacy can require wholesale drug distributors to accept returns of soon-to-expire drugs.

• Revises the legal definitions of LSD and psilocybin under Georgia's Schedule I drug list so FDA-approved, DEA-scheduled versions of these drugs would not be classified as Schedule I controlled substances.
• Makes those two definition changes contingent on actual future federal approval and scheduling of the specific drug forms, rather than effective immediately.
• Sets a statewide pharmacist-to-pharmacy-technician supervision ratio of one pharmacist per four technicians, while excluding remote-working technicians from that ratio count.
• Allows pharmacy technicians to perform certain technical tasks, such as entering data and preparing labels, from a remote location outside the pharmacy.
• Expands the number of pharmacy interns and externs a single pharmacist may supervise, capping the combined total of technicians, interns, and externs at six people.
• Removes the requirement that wholesale drug distributor return rules only apply to drugs with less than a one-year expiration window from manufacture.

Pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, pharmacy interns and externs, and wholesale drug distributors in Georgia; the State Board of Pharmacy, which sets related rules; and, if federal approval ever occurs, patients and prescribers involved with FDA-approved LSD- or psilocybin-based medications.

Pharmacies would gain more flexibility in staffing, including remote work for technicians, while patients could eventually access FDA-approved psilocybin or LSD-based treatments without those drugs being blocked by Georgia's Schedule I classification, though only after federal approval occurs.

• Section 1 names the bill the 'Prescription Drug Security, Supervision, and Return Act.'
• Sections 2 and 3 revise O.C.G.A. § 16-13-25 to exclude FDA-approved, DEA-scheduled lysergide tartrate and crystalline polymorph psilocybin drugs from Georgia's Schedule I list.
• Section 4 updates the definition of 'pharmacy technician' in O.C.G.A. § 26-4-5.
• Section 5 revises O.C.G.A. § 26-4-82, setting a one-to-four pharmacist-to-technician supervisory ratio, excluding remote technicians from that ratio, and allowing pharmacists to supervise up to six combined interns, externs, and technicians.
• Section 6 removes the one-year expiration limitation on which drugs the State Board of Pharmacy can exempt from wholesale distributor return requirements under O.C.G.A. § 26-4-115.
• Section 7 clarifies the Act does not limit the State Board of Pharmacy's existing authority or affect scheduling of drugs already listed in Schedules II through V.
• Section 8 makes the LSD and psilocybin definition changes effective only upon specific future federal FDA approval and DEA scheduling actions.

1. 2026-05-11Effective Date 2026-07-01
2. 2026-05-11Act 476
3. 2026-05-11House Date Signed by Governor (House)
4. 2026-04-10House Sent to Governor (House)
5. 2026-03-31Senate Passed/Adopted (Senate)
6. 2026-03-31Senate Third Read (Senate)
7. 2026-03-25Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
8. 2026-03-25Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)

• Ron Stephens (R, HD-164)Primary sponsor
• Mark Newton (R, HD-127)
• Ben Watson (R, SD-001)

1. PassedHouse voteMarch 6, 2026

   167 yea, 0 nay (2 not voting, 8 absent)

   Passage: House Vote #676

2. PassedSenate voteMarch 31, 2026

   38 yea, 10 nay (0 not voting, 6 absent)

   Passage: Senate Vote #895

• controlled substances
• psilocybin and LSD law
• pharmacy regulation
• pharmacy technicians
• drug distribution rules