Wtf? Gabapentin is suddenly scheduled, is this a state or national thing?!

[Jr1zzle906]

So I was expecting to pick up my refills on gabapentin 400mg and wellbutrin s.r. 150mg this morning from my pharmacy, I called and it turns out gabapentin is all of the sudden a controlled substance! I googled this and it came up with something about Tennessee making it schedule 5 starting in July of last year. I'm assuming this is going to be like the slow process of scheduling tramadol? I remember being able to order legal prescriptions of them online from many u.s. based pharmacies then a disclaimer popped up saying tramadol had become scheduled in something like 15 states, Michigan was among the last states to do this last I knew tramadol was nationally schedule 3 (I believe it's been bumped to schedule 2 now?) Anyway, back to gabapentin, just wondering if this is a state by state thing or if it's been nationally scheduled? My state did just legalize recreational marijuana so it's almost like trading one illegal substance for another.

 

[Lorne???]

It?s regional. For now

 

[T. Calderone]

It's not nationwide, only certain states have listed gabapentin as a controlled substance now. The rationale behind this is because many people who had overdosed from opioids in Michigan were purportedly found to have gabapentin in their system as well. The measure is meant to make doctors more careful in their prescribing practices.

 

[Lorne???]

^ Thank you for that psa

 

[cduggles]

Pregabalin is Schedule V in the US, just FYI. Probably mostly because it's expensive. Allegedly there is a generic alternative of Lyrica in the US, but I'm not sure.

Unfortunately, I'm not surprised about gabapentin being scheduled.

 

[Jr1zzle906]

I'm aware of pregabalin or lyrica being a schedule 5 control and agree that it should be. 1 300mg capsule will get me feeling pretty high. I learned the hard way not to eat these things before work this last summer roofing houses. They fuck with your equilibrium at just the wrong time, lol. Gabapentin, on the other hand, takes 3 hours to really kick in, decreases in bioavailability over a certain mg intake and other than slight mood lift and anxiety relief I really don't think these things get my high? I've taken up to 4 grams in a day and they really aren't all that. In my opinion they have no business in the same scheduling as pregabalin, Tylenol 3s or promethazine syrup...