Introduction to the Unified Agenda
Many of you know that the Unified Agenda is where the public can track regulatory activities of 60 federal agencies, departments, or commissions, including the DEA. The purpose is to provide an early sense of the rules agencies are planning to issue and when they hope to issue them. Published semi-annually in the Federal Register, each department lists individual agency items, as required by the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.). Each agency is required to identify those rules that may have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of entities; this information is included in each submission to the Unified Agenda.
The Unified Agenda’s Transparency Requirements
Agencies meet two transparency requirements by posting a list of their anticipated regulatory actions. The first requirement is found at Section 602 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act, which requires that all agencies publish semiannual regulatory agendas describing regulatory actions they are developing that may have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. The second requirement is found in Section 4 of Executive Order 12866 on “Regulatory Planning and Review,” which requires that all federal rulemaking agencies “prepare an agenda of all regulations under development or review.”
A recent Executive Order 14192, states that “Unless otherwise required by law, no regulation shall be issued by an agency if it was not included in the most recent version or update of the published Unified Regulatory Agenda as required under Executive Order 12866, as amended, or any successor order, unless the issuance of such regulation was approved in advance in writing by the Director.” However, the statute provides the following: “Nothing in this section precludes an agency from considering or acting on any matter not included in a regulatory flexibility agenda or requires an agency to consider or act on any matter listed in such agenda.” 5 U.S.C. 602(d).
Looking Back to the Spring 2025 Edition of the Unified Agenda
In anticipation of the Spring 2026 edition, I thought it would be interesting to look back at last year’s spring agenda for items posted by the DEA; only 6 items were listed.
Three items on the agenda made it to the publication of a Final Rule:
- Emergency Medical Services (Final Rule Published on 2/5/2026, 91 FR 5216)
- Expansion of Induction of Buprenorphine via Telemedicine Encounter (Final Rule published on 01/17/2025, 90 FR 6504)
- Amending Regulations to Conform to the CSOS Modernization (Final Rule published on 10/02/2025, 90 FR 47566)
And three items listed are still pending action
- Changes to a Prescription (NPRM not published)
- Special Registrations for Telemedicine and Limited State Telemedicine Registrations (NPRM published on 1/17/2025, 90 FR 6541)
- Implementation of the SUPPORT Act: Dispensing and Administering Controlled Substances for Medication-Assisted Treatment (Interim final rule with request for comments published 11/02/2020, 85 FR 69153)
Past Unified Agenda Items that DEA Could Consider for Regulatory Action
I would guess the last three will make it on the Spring 2026 list. What else should be on there? Looking back to the Spring 2023 Unified Regulatory Agenda, I find plenty of regulations that DEA could consider re-listing.
- Controlled Substance Destruction and Alternatives to Incineration
- Principal Place of Business or Professional Practice
- Providing Controlled Substances to Ocean Vessels
- Termination of Registration Upon Discontinuation of Business or Change of Ownership
- Disaster Registration Emergency Authorities
- Campus Registration
- Employment Bar and New Employment Waivers
- Operation of ADS machines at LTCFs by Hospital/Clinic Pharmacies
- Medical Missions
- Federal Regulations on Telepharmacy
- Amending Regulations to Separate K-9 Handlers from the Researcher Category
- Analytical Labs and Hemp
- Marijuana Rescheduling
- Partial Filling of Prescriptions for Schedule II Controlled Substances
- Management of Quotas for Controlled Substances and List 1 Chemicals
- Amending Regulations to Require Electronic Submission of DEA Form 106
- Transfer of Prescription Information Between Pharmacies of Initial Filing of EPCS for C2-5 Controlled Substances
- Medications to Prevent Narcotic Opioid Withdrawal Symptoms
- Implementation of the Designer Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 2014
- Implementation of the Veterinary Medicine Mobility Act of 2014
DEA’s Long-Term Actions Listed on the Agency Rule List for Spring 2025
In case you remembered some others, I found the following items from DEA listed on the Spring 2025 long-term listing.
- Suspicious Orders of Controlled Substances
- Implementation of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018
- Technical Amendment to Number Each Definition
- DEA Registration for Religious Organizations Under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA)
- Import/Export and Domestic Transactions of Tableting and Encapsulating Machines
- Automation of Reports and Consolidated Orders System (ARCOS) Monthly Reporting
- Extension of Re-exportation Period
Last Thoughts
DEA’s Regulatory Drafting Section is constantly working on changes to regulations. The Unified Regulatory Agenda for Spring 2026 will give us a glimpse into what DEA is prioritizing, but that doesn’t mean other regulatory actions are being considered in the background.
If you would like to discuss the DEA Unified Agenda and what it means to you, Brinks DEA Consulting is here for you!