By C1 Staff
PHOENIX — The Drug Enforcement Administration has renewed the Arizona Department of Corrections’ registration to import pentobarbital.
The Arizona Daily Star reports that the notice comes six weeks after the state executed Joseph Wood Jr. using a different set of drugs, midazolam and hydromorphone, in a process that took almost two hours.
Officials at the DOC would not comment on the DEA approval, except to note that it was a renewal of a previous license to import.
The renewal is just one step in what would be a long process toward the importation of pentobarbital. In addition to the DEA approval, the DOC would also have to be granted approval from the FDA.
Still, the drug has become increasingly difficult for states to come by and the DOC may be hard-pressed to find a seller. Most major manufacturers don’t wish to sell the drug for executions.
Even though a local pharmacist could possibly put the drug together, Arizona has not been able to get the drug from compounding pharmacies.