Hello all,
I'm very curious to know what the law says regarding the minimum time between refills or new scripts of controlled substances. (e.g. refills for sch. III and time between new scripts for sch. II which don't allow refills).

Also, is this topic governed by federal, state or both type laws? (I live in NY State BTW)

I've experienced seemingly arbitrary refill "policies" at different stores and even within the same store by different pharmacists. For example, at one national chain store, 2 different pharmacists use 2 different policies regarding refilling controlled substances (like hydro) early. One says I can refill on day 25 of a 30 day script while another often makes me wait until day 30 of a 30 day script because she tells me the laws governing controlled substances requires her to wait the full duration. Obviously this "zero tolerance" policy is very inconvenient for me if I am going to be out of town or if they don't have what I need in stock on day 30 and I have to wait beyond 30 days.

I also know several people who have experienced similar problems where they have been told different things by different pharmacies when they try to refill controlled substances a few days early.

I would love to be educated in this matter and be able to have a calm, intelligent discussion with a pharmacist if I ever need to refill a few days early and they refuse due to "the law".

The only thing I can think of is perhaps there are laws in this area, but they contain language stating they are only intended to be guidelines, thus giving pharmacists flexibility in their interpretation of these laws.

...thanks in advance for any insight, links or personal experiences you may have....