Gov. Gavin Newsom has been touting California as the “true freedom state,” but for a state that values freedom, its regulators don’t know how to leave anyone alone. The latest example of meddlesome state bureaucracy is too ridiculous to fathom: California’s Board of Pharmacy is implementing new rules that are stopping pharmacists from flavoring children’s medication.
It’s been common practice for generations for pharmacists to add grape or other sweet flavors to antibiotics, flu syrups and various icky tasting medications to make it easier for young kids to tolerate their prescribed doses.
The board has traditionally allowed it.
Yet, as CalMatters reported last month, pharmacies have stopped offering this service as they await new rules from the state pharmacy board that apply tougher regulations to this simple practice.
The feds are adopting new guidance that considers flavoring to be “drug compounding.” The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which does not approve such medications, defines it as “combining, mixing, or altering ingredients” to provide an individualized result. Patients with allergies or special needs can benefit from these tailored mixtures, which is why the compounding market is growing. It’s much different than adding some flavoring to flucloxacillin.
Nevertheless, the federal government simply can’t leave Americans alone to make such decisions in consultation with their doctors and pharmacists. So, as we await the slow churn of federal rulemaking, parents with sick kids are left in the lurch. But we can’t only blame the feds here. Per the CalMatters report, Newsom vetoed Assembly Bill 782, which would have exempted flavoring from the compounding definition. It passed both houses with zero “no” votes.
Newsom claimed the bill didn’t meet the new federal guidelines. That is an odd argument given the degree to which the governor has touted California’s independence from federal edicts that our state doesn’t like (e.g., involving abortion and immigration). The article also noted that Newsom signed a bill requiring the state to adopt the new federal pharmacy guidelines.
In other words, being a “true freedom state” doesn’t mean allowing its citizens to flavor their kids’ medication.
