Earlier this month, Rep. Chip Brown, R-Hollinger’s Island, prefiled a bill, House Bill 127, that would allow the drugs ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine to be sold over the counter and stop the state Board of Pharmacists from punishing pharmacists who promote the off-label use of medications.
During an interview with APR on Sunday, Brown said his constituents had been reaching out frequently about the issue, adding that over-the-counter sales are “a safer way to do it than people that take the paste or the liquid forms that aren’t necessarily intended for human consumption.”
“So many people use it currently and it’s been proven to help with COVID and now they’re actually experimenting using ivermectin in particular with cancer treatments and other ailments,” Brown said. “You know, we go anywhere else in the world and it’s over the counter. And also our own federal government for years has given that away across the world as treatments for a whole host of different conditions, for malaria treatments and parasites and all sorts of things.”
Ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine both gained national attention in 2020 as potential treatments for COVID-19. An FDA website asserts, however, that the agency “has determined that currently available clinical trial data do not demonstrate that ivermectin is effective against COVID 19 in humans.” And while viral posts on social media have touted ivermectin as a possible treatment for cancer, recent research has found no positive effects.
Most research on the in vivo efficacy of hydroxychloroquine has also found it is not an effective treatment for COVID. Back in June 2020, the FDA revoked its emergency use authorization for the drug due to “results from a large, randomized clinical trial in hospitalized patients that found these medicines showed no benefit for decreasing the likelihood of death or speeding recovery.”
Over fifteen states have had legislation introduced that would allow ivermectin to be sold over the counter. Five, including most recently Texas, have officially legalized the sale of the drug to state residents without a prescription.
Another bill, HB146, has also already been prefiled by Rep. Phillip Rigsby, R-Huntsville, for consideration during the upcoming session. That bill would allow physicians, physician assistants and nurse practitioners to grant pharmacists “a standing order to dispense Ivermectin to individuals without an individual prescription.”
Brown, while talking with APR, specifically mentioned a 2024 law sponsored by Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, as an inspiration for the part of his new bill granting pharmacists new protections. Brown first introduced a bill to prevent the Board of Pharmacy from disciplining pharmacists for advising or aiding in off-label uses during the last session.
HB127 would specifically prevent the State Board of Pharmacy from “revok[ing], suspend[ing], fail[ing] to renew, or tak[ing] any other adverse action against a pharmacist’s license” because that pharmacist dispensed a medication for off-label use or recommended an off-label medicine. It would also prevent employers and pharmacy benefits managers from punishing pharmacists and allow pharmacists to sue their employers if so punished.
“I believe it was two years ago Senator Orr passed a bill that gave protections to doctors that prescribed off patent and off-label prescriptions,” Brown said. “And so I thought it was important for pharmacists to have those same protections, so that’s why I carried that bill last year.”
Brown went on to explain that in his opinion, his 2025 bill “ by no fault of the actual legislation, it was just caught up in the workings of the Senate and just didn’t get on.”
After discussing HB127, Brown told APR that one of his main priorities during this upcoming session will be his expansion of Aniah’s Law. “ I think it’ll help keep our streets safer and our citizens safer,” he said.
