New Mexico
Register / Volume XXXVII, Issue 17 / September 9, 2026
NOTICE OF REGULAR
BOARD MEETING AND RULE HEARING
The New Mexico Board of Pharmacy will convene on October 22
and 23, 2026 at 9:00 a.m. and continue until finished in the Board of Pharmacy
Conference Room located at 5500 San Antonio Dr., NE, Albuquerque, NM 87109 for
the purpose of conducting a regular board meeting and rule hearing.
The agenda is posted 72 hours prior to the scheduled
meeting. You may view and download a
copy of the agenda through the board’s website: https://www.rld.nm.gov/pharmacy/pharmacy-board-information/pharmacy-board-meetings/. All proposed
language regarding rule hearings is linked to the Agenda, the Notice to the
Public on our website and the New
Mexico Sunshine Portal.
Individuals petitioning the
board regarding requests/waivers must submit documentation for presentation;
via fax (505) 222-9845, mail or email to the Board Administrator, at the
general e-mail pharmacy.board@rld.nm.gov at least one week in advance of the
scheduled meeting.
Interested persons wishing to
comment on proposed language regarding rule hearings may submit documentation
for presentation prior to the hearing; via fax (505) 222-9845, mail or email to
the Board Administrator, at the general e-mail pharmacy.board@rld.nm.gov in
advance of the scheduled meeting. Public
comment is also allowed during the rule hearing.
If you are an individual with a
disability who is in need of a reader, amplifier, qualified sign language
interpreter, or any other form of auxiliary aid or service, or if you are in
need of a translator to attend or participate in the hearing or meeting, please
contact Board Administrator at 505-222-9830 at least one week prior to the
meeting or as soon as possible. Public
documents, including the agenda and minutes, can be provided in various
accessible formats. Please contact Board
Administrator at 505-222-9830 or e-mail pharmacy.board@rld.nm.gov if a summary or other type of accessible
format is needed.
The full text of Proposed Rule Amendments for Rule Hearing on
October 22, 2026, at 9:10 a.m. is available for each rule via the hyperlinks
below, agenda hyperlinks, and Sunshine Portal notice hyperlinks. If you are unable to access the full text of
Proposed Rule Amendments via the links provided, please contact pharmacy.board@rld.nm.gov
for a copy.
Short explanation of the Purpose of Proposed Rule
Amendments: see below.
16.19.4 NMAC - PHARMACIST
Section 16, responsibilities of pharmacist and pharmacist
intern. Subsection B(1) is amended to provide that the pharmacist’s final check
on a completed prescription need not include physically opening the container
to re-confirm the drug, strength, and dosage form where those attributes have
been confirmed either (i) by a certified pharmacy technician through
technology-assisted product verification under 16.19.22.8 NMAC, or (ii) by an
automated filling system for which the pharmacist verification requirements are
deemed satisfied under Subsection D of 16.19.6.28 NMAC. In either case, the
pharmacist remains responsible for the final check and for the filled
prescription.
The purpose of the proposed amendment is to align
pharmacist responsibilities with technology-assisted product verification,
while preserving the pharmacist’s responsibility for the final check.
STATUTORY AUTHORITY: Paragraph (1) of Subsection A of
Section 61-11-6 NMSA, 1978 authorizes the board of pharmacy to adopt, regularly
review and revise rules and regulations necessary to carry out the provisions
of the Pharmacy Act, Sections 61-11-1, 61-11-2, 61-11-4 to 61-11-28 NMSA 1978.
Those provisions include the authority to:
A. deny or take disciplinary action with respect to any
certificate of registration or license held or applied for under the Pharmacy
Act, Section 61-11-20 NMSA 1978;
B. require and establish criteria for continuing education
as a condition of renewal of a pharmacist license, Paragraph (4) of Subsection
A of Section 61-11-6 NMSA 1978;
C. issue permits or licenses, as defined and limited by
board regulation, to nursing homes, industrial and public health clinics and
home care services, Paragraph (6) of Subsection A of Section 61-11-6 and
61-11-14 NMSA 1978;
D. provide for the issuance and renewal of licenses for
pharmacists, Paragraph (3) of Subsection A of Section 61-11-6, and 61-11-13
NMSA 1978;
E. provide for the registration of pharmacist interns,
their certification, annual renewal of certification, training, supervision,
and discipline, Paragraph (5) of Subsection A of Section 61-11-6 NMSA 1978; and
F. adopt rules and regulations that establish patient
counseling requirements, Paragraph (18) of Subsection A of 61-11-6 NMSA 1978.
Under the Pharmacist Prescriptive Authority Act, Sections 61-11B-1 to 61-11B-3
NMSA 1978, the board is required to establish regulations governing
certification as a pharmacist clinician. The Impaired Pharmacists Act, Sections
61-11A-1 to 61-11A-8 NMSA 1978, requires the establishment by the board of a
plan for treatment and rehabilitation of impaired pharmacists. Subsection B of
Section 61-1-36 NMSA 1978 authorizes the board of pharmacy to promulgate rules
relating to listing specific criminal convictions that could disqualify an
applicant from receiving a license on the basis of a previous felony
conviction. Subsection B of Section 28-2-3 NMSA 1978 prohibits the board of
pharmacy from considering certain criminal records to be used, distributed or
disseminated in connection with an application for a license. Section 28-2-4
NMSA 1978 authorizes the board of pharmacy the power to refuse to grant or
renew, or suspend or revoke a license where the applicant or licensee has been
convicted of a felony and the criminal conviction directly relates to the
particular profession and other convictions specified.
https://www.rld.nm.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Pharm16.019.0004-July-2026.pdf
16.19.11 NMAC – NURSING HOME DRUG CONTROL
Section 1, administrative updates.
Section 3, update statutory citation style and add
authority for new section 9.
Section 8, administrative amendments. Remove reference to CDC for recommended
vaccines, add consultant pharmacist responsibility for proper transfer and
documentation of eligible drug donation, remove language that otherwise
duplicated in part 4.
Section 9, add 16.19.11.9 NMAC, Custodial Care Facility –
Withdrawal Management. The new section authorizes a licensed custodial care
facility that is authorized to provide medically monitored withdrawal
management, is under the supervision of a consultant pharmacist, and has
nursing staff on-site twenty-four hours per day, three hundred sixty-five days
per year, to acquire, stock, maintain, and possess dangerous drugs, including
controlled substances in Schedules III–V as limited in the section, for administration
for withdrawal management purposes in accordance with Board rules. The section
establishes a designated ordering authority for facility-stock drugs,
discrepancy and diversion reporting requirements, and disposition requirements
upon temporary closure of the facility.
The purpose of the proposed amendment is to establish
minimum drug-control standards for custodial care facilities providing
medically monitored withdrawal management, including ordering, storage,
recordkeeping, and consultant pharmacist oversight.
STATUTORY AUTHORITY: Paragraph (6) of Subsection A of
Section 61-11-6 NMSA 1978 authorizes the Board of Pharmacy to license nursing
home drug facilities and all places where dangerous drugs are dispensed or
administered and to provide for the inspection of their facilities and
activities. Paragraph (9) of Subsection B of Section 61-11-14 NMSA 1978 directs
the Board to issue drug custodial licenses for licensed nursing homes and to
adopt regulations that define and limit those licenses. Section 61-11-31 NMSA
1978 allows custodial care facilities authorized to provide withdrawal
management to acquire and possess dangerous drugs and controlled substances in
accordance with Board rules.
https://www.rld.nm.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Pharm16.19.11.9_July-2026.pdf
16.19.20 NMAC – CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES
Section 65 (Schedule I), Section 66 (Schedule II), Section
67 (Schedule III), and Section 68 (Schedule IV) are amended to update the
listing of scheduled drugs, including Schedule I opioids and fentanyl-related
substances.
The purpose of the proposed amendment is to update the
controlled substances schedules to reflect current classifications of scheduled
drugs.
STATUTORY AUTHORITY: Section 30-31-11 of the Controlled
Substances Act, 30-31-1 through 30-31-42 NMSA 1978, authorizes the board of
pharmacy to promulgate regulations and charge reasonable fees for the
registration and control of the manufacture, distribution and dispensing of
controlled substances. Paragraph (2) of Subsection B of Section 61-11-6
authorizes the board to provide by regulation for the electronic transmission
of prescriptions.
https://www.rld.nm.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Pharm16.19.20_July-2026.pdf
16.19.22 NMAC – PHARMACY TECHNICIANS AND SUPPORT PERSONNEL
Section 7, definitions. Add definitions of “electronic
verification system” and “technology-assisted product verification,” and
renumber the remaining definitions accordingly.
Section 8, permissible activities. Add Subsection B
authorizing a certified pharmacy technician to perform technology-assisted
product verification under the direct supervision of a pharmacist and without
the exercise of professional judgment, confirming only that the drug, strength,
and dosage form in the bottle or packaged prescription vessel match the drug on
the label and on the prescription. The amendment conditions this activity on,
among other requirements, a pharmacist being physically present onsite, the
technician having accrued not less than one thousand hours of experience as a
certified pharmacy technician and having completed
pharmacist-in-charge-approved training, use of an electronic verification
system, exclusions for controlled substances (absent specified inventory
controls), cytotoxic products, and compounded preparations, and a quality
assurance plan that includes daily random pharmacist testing of not less than
two percent of prescriptions verified under the subsection. The supervising pharmacist
remains responsible for the final check and for the filled prescription.
Section 11, improper activities of pharmacy technicians.
Amend Subsection A to reflect that, where a certified pharmacy technician has
completed technology-assisted product verification, the pharmacist’s final
check need not include physically opening the container to re-confirm the drug,
strength, and dosage form so verified.
The purpose of the proposed amendment is to authorize and
establish safeguards for technology-assisted product verification by certified
pharmacy technicians.
STATUTORY AUTHORITY: Subsection A of Section 61-11-6 NMSA
1978 authorizes the Board of Pharmacy to register and regulate the
qualifications, training, and permissible activities of pharmacy technicians.
https://www.rld.nm.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Pharm16.19.22_NMAC_July-2026.pdf
16.19.34 NMAC – PRESCRIPTION DRUG DONATIONS
Section 8, procedures. In Subsection B (storage), add that
an eligible recipient practitioner may only store drugs at the board-registered
address, which may not be a mobile or home address. In Subsection D
(redistribution), add that a practitioner may not redistribute donated
prescription drugs to themselves, and add that redistributed drugs will be
provided to the patient with information on side effects, interactions, and
precautions concerning the drug or device provided, which may be written or supplemented
through alternative forms such as written information leaflets, pictogram
labels, and video programs.
Section 9, record keeping. Add a subsection governing
records for redistributed drugs administered, dispensed, or distributed,
requiring that: an eligible recipient practitioner maintain records including
the patient’s name and date of birth, the drug name, strength, dosage form,
quantity, and expiration date, and the date administered, dispensed, or
distributed, retained for three years and available for inspection by the
Board; an eligible recipient clinic maintain records as required by federal and
state law, including 16.19.10 NMAC; and an eligible recipient pharmacy maintain
records as required by federal and state law, including 16.19.6 NMAC. The
remaining recordkeeping subsections are relettered
accordingly.
The purpose of the proposed amendment is to clarify
practitioner storage and self-redistribution limitations, ensure patients
receive drug information upon redistribution, and establish recordkeeping
requirements for redistributed drugs.
STATUTORY AUTHORITY: Section 26-1-3.2 of the New Mexico
Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act mandates the Board of Pharmacy to establish rules
for the safe redistribution of unused prescription drugs.
https://www.rld.nm.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Pharm16.19.34-July-2026.pdf
Disciplinary Hearing(s):
Thursday October 22, 2026, 9:45 a.m. until 12:35 p.m. or
until finished, CasaPharma Rx, unlicensed, case
2026-015
Friday October 23, 2026, 9:10 a.m. until finished, Mike
Gallegos RP00006838, Complete Care Pharmacy LLC d/b/a Corrales Pharmacy
PH00004048, case 2024-051
If additional scheduling occurs, the final hearing date and
time for each case will be included in the agenda posted to the board’s website
at least 72 hours before the meeting.
Executive Director’s Report:
Published in NM Register: September 9, 2026
Published in Albuquerque Journal: September 9, 2026