Image Credit: capitol.tn.gov & Canva
The Tennessee Conservative [By David Seal]-
In April 2022, Tennessee became the first state in the nation to make Ivermectin available without a prescription. The late Senator Frank Niceley (R-Strawberry Plains) led the charge with successful legislation to make the drug available over the counter.
Representative Susan Lynn (R-Mount Juliet) carried the groundbreaking legislation in the house chamber. Senate Bill 2188 by Niceley and companion House Bill 2746 by Lynn was signed into law on April 22, 2022.
The resulting Public Chapter 908 permits participating pharmacies in Tennessee to provide the drug without a prescription. It does not require pharmacies to sell the drug.
Despite widespread availability, too many people do not know where to obtain the drug. One of the reasons that Ivermectin is hard to locate is that the Tennessee Department of Health and the Tennessee Board of Pharmacy do not publish a list of participating pharmacies.
A list of participating pharmacies in Tennessee is linked here: Ivermectin
Activist Bernadette Pajer and Dr. Denise Sibley were the point of the spear in getting the Ivermectin access law passed in Tennessee.
Pajer commented as follows for this news report.
“The 2022 law required the Tennessee Board of Pharmacy to promulgate rules to guide pharmacists in following the new law and it took them nearly 2 years to finalize (March 14, 2024). Pharmacists did not have to wait for the rules to be finalized before selling Ivermectin, they could draft their own agreements to comply with the law. Thanks to Dr. Denise Sibley who helped with the passage of the bill and who took the initiative to work with pharmacists immediately, many independent pharmacies began selling Ivermectin in 2022. Over the past few years, much more has been learned about the amazing medical benefits of Ivermectin, far beyond preventing and treating COVID-19.” – said Bernadette Pajer, Volunteer Director, Stand for Health Freedom Tennessee
Other Resources About Ivermectin:
https://imahealth.org/search/?q=ivermectin
https://www.amazon.com/War-Ivermectin-Medicine-Millions-Pandemic/dp/151077386X
Four States Pass Laws Allowing OTC Ivermectin, More States Pending Legislation | Pharmacy Times
Following Tennessee’s leadership, many other states have followed suit with their own version of non-prescription availability. A summary of those states and their approach is as follows.
Texas: HB 3219 would reclassify ivermectin as OTC.
New Hampshire: SB 119 would pair ivermectin status with an unrelated Medicaid provision and “…[direct] pharmacists to dispense brand-name drugs to Medicaid beneficiaries when the brand-name drug is on the Department of Health and Human Services preferred drug list.”
North Carolina: HB 618 would “issue a statewide standing order to allow pharmacists to dispense ivermectin without prescription” and “[provide] immunity from civil or criminal liability” for any pharmacist who dispenses ivermectin.
Pennsylvania: SB 601 would amend the state’s Pharmacy Act to include OTC ivermectin.
Georgia: SB 366 would “provide for ivermectin as an over-the-counter medication in this state” and “remove ivermectin from the definition of, exceptions to, and exemptions from dangerous drugs.”
Alabama: HB 278 would “permit a physician, a physician assistant, or a certified registered nurse practitioner to give a pharmacist a standing order that has been approved by the State Board of Pharmacy to dispense ivermectin to individuals without a prescription.” This law includes similar requirements to the Louisiana bill. Additionally, it includes disciplinary protections for pharmacists and restricts them from endorsing the use of ivermectin to an individual or the public.
West Virginia: SB 614 would authorize pharmacists to sell ivermectin without a prescription or consultation, as well as protect them from liability from damages or licensing board discipline.
Missouri: SB 744 would permit pharmacists to dispense both ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine OTC.
South Carolina: HB 3916 would allow OTC sales of ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine without a prescription or consultation.
Information about how the law works and a list of participating pharmacies can be found HERE. This list gets updated regularly.
Ivermectin has been a truly “miracle drug” of sorts since its FDA approval in 1987, saving many lives, first as an anti-parasitic, but also due to its anti-viral, anti-cancer, and anti-inflammatory activity. It was used extensively during covid as a safe and life-saving medication, though it was vilified because it’s success threatened the lucrative “covid vaccine” industry. In 2022, our goal of making Ivermectin available in a pharmaceutical grade product for Tennessee residents was truly monumental and a testament to its safety and medicinal versatility. Many thanks to Representative Susan Lynn and our dear patriot Senator Frank Niceley who were sponsors of the bill. In the 3 1/2 years since its widespread availability in Tennessee, we have grown our network of pharmacies that offer Ivermectin, and we now have considerable “medical tourism” – people traveling from many states and countries to obtain this sought after product. Many people do not realize that it is a God-given “natural product “- being discovered in the soil of a Japanese golf course, produced by an organism there. The discoverers of Ivermectin won the Nobel Prize in 2015 because of its demonstrated safety and efficaciousness. The personal censorship and reprisal that I suffered from testifying and advocating for ivermectin in Tennessee was insignificant compared to the benefits to mankind that Ivermectin access has wrought. – said Denise Sibley, MD, Johnson City, TN., Internal Medicine
About the Author: David Seal is a retired Jefferson County educator, recognized artist, local businessman, 917 Society Volunteer, and past Chairman of the Jefferson County Republican Party. He has also served Jefferson County as a County Commissioner and is a citizen lobbyist for the people on issues such as eminent domain, property rights, education, and broadband accessibility on the state level. David is also a 2024 winner of The Tennessee Conservative Flame Award & has received an accolade from the Institute For Justice for successfully lobbing the TN legislature to protect property rights. David can be reached at david@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
2 Responses
GOOD!! Lucifer’s pharma hates this.
Three and a half years now after this legislation passed, I would still have to drive over an hour to find a pharmacy that carries Ivermectin. You would think that the controversy over this medication would have been extinguished by now and doctors and pharmacists would be well aware of the benefits, benefits that I realized FIVE years ago. Yet, in a big city like Memphis, full of doctors & hospitals, you can’t find a pharmacy that carriers it. Unreal!! This is a witness to the power of the pharmaceutical industry…….over pharmacies and your doctor. You can’t tell me that doctors are that stupid, or are they?