New regs for Thursday: New schedule I drug, orchids and Indian education

Thursday’s edition of the Federal Register contains a final rule from the Department of Justice to add a certain painkiller to the list of schedule I drugs, additional time to comment on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife proposal to list a perennial herb as threatened and a request from the Bureau of Indian Education for nominations to it’s rulemaking committee.  

Here’s what to look for:

Drug: The Department of Justice will issue a final rule to place AH-7921 to the list of schedule I drugs alongside heroin and ecstasy under the Controlled Substances Act.

The powerful painkiller is similar to that of morphine and the Drug Enforcement Administration said it’s not aware of any commercial or medical reason for its use. In the rulemaking, DEA said the drug is used to elicit euphoria and create a state of relaxation.

Under the Controlled Substances Act, schedule I drugs are considered the most dangerous class of drugs with the highest potential for abuse, according to the DEA.

The rule will take effect in 30 days.

White fringeless orchid: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is re-opening the public comment period on its September proposal to list the white fringeless orchid as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act.

A perennial herb, the white fringeless orchid can be found in wet, boggy areas in Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, South Carolina and Tennessee. The FWS said plant populations have decreased due to road construction, residential and commercial construction, and soil and water-flow altering projects.

Though FWS issued the proposed rule on September 15, the agency said it has since learned that it did not completely satisfy the notice requirements.

The public now has another 60 days to comment.

Indian education: The Department of Interior is looking for nominations to the rulemaking committee the Bureau of Indian Education created. The agency said the nominations should come from tribes whose students attend BIE-funded schools that are BIE operated or the tribe operates through a contract or grant.

Under the Every Student Succeeds Act, the BIE must use a negotiated rulemaking process to develop standards, assessments and an accountability system by the 2017-2018 school year.

The public has 45 days to submit nominations and comments.