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NC General Statutes

N.C. Gen. Stat. § 90-91 (2026)

Schedule III controlled substances

✓ current as of July 2026
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This schedule includes the controlled substances listed or to be listed by whatever official name, common or usual name, chemical name, or trade name designated. In determining that a substance comes within this schedule, the Commission shall find: a potential for abuse less than the substances listed in Schedules I and II; currently accepted medical use in the United States; and abuse may lead to moderate or low physical dependence or high psychological dependence. The following controlled substances are included in this schedule:

(a) Repealed by Session Laws 1973, c. 540, s. 5.

(b) Any material, compound, mixture, or preparation which contains any quantity of the following substances having a depressant effect on the central nervous system unless specifically exempted or listed in another schedule:

1. Any substance which contains any quantity of a derivative of barbituric acid, or any salt of a derivative of barbituric acid.

2. Chlorhexadol.

3. Repealed by Session Laws 1993, c. 319, s. 5.

4. Lysergic acid.

5. Lysergic acid amide.

6. Methyprylon.

7. Sulfondiethylmethane.

8. Sulfonethylmethane.

9. Sulfonmethane.

9a. Tiletamine and zolazepam or any salt thereof. Some trade or other names for tiletamine-zolazepam combination product: Telazol. Some trade or other names for tiletamine:

2-(ethylamino)-2-(2-thienyl)-cyclohexanone. Some trade or other names for zolazepam: 4-(2-fluorophenyl)-6,8-dihydro-1,3,8-trimethylpyrazolo-[3,4-e][ 1,4]/y-diazepin-7(1H)-one. flupyrazapon.

10. Any compound, mixture or preparation containing

(i) Amobarbital.

(ii) Secobarbital.

(iii) Pentobarbital.

or any salt thereof and one or more active ingredients which are not included in any other schedule.

11. Any suppository dosage form containing

(i) Amobarbital.

(ii) Secobarbital.

(iii) Pentobarbital.

or any salt of any of these drugs and approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration for marketing as a suppository.

12. Ketamine.

(c) Nalorphine.

(d) Any material, compound, mixture, or preparation containing limited quantities of any of the following narcotic drugs, or any salts thereof unless specifically exempted or listed in another schedule:

1. Not more than 1.80 grams of codeine per 100 milliliters or not more than 90 milligrams per dosage unit with an equal or greater quantity of an isoquinoline alkaloid of opium.

2. Not more than 1.80 grams of codeine per 100 milliliters or not more than 90 milligrams per dosage unit, with one or more active, nonnarcotic ingredients in recognized therapeutic amounts.

3., 4. Repealed by Session Laws 2017-115, s. 5, effective December 1, 2017, and applicable to offenses committed on or after that date.

5. Not more than 1.80 grams of dihydrocodeine per 100 milliliters or not more than 90 milligrams per dosage unit, with one or more active, nonnarcotic ingredients in recognized therapeutic amounts.

6. Not more than 300 milligrams of ethylmorphine per 100 milliliters or not more than 15 milligrams per dosage unit, with one or more active, nonnarcotic ingredients in recognized therapeutic amounts.

7. Not more than 500 milligrams of opium per 100 milliliters or per 100 grams, or not more than 25 milligrams per dosage unit, with one or more active, nonnarcotic ingredients in recognized therapeutic amounts.

8. Not more than 50 milligrams of morphine per 100 milliliters or per 100 grams with one or more active, nonnarcotic ingredients in recognized therapeutic amounts.

9. Buprenorphine.

(e) Any compound, mixture or preparation containing limited quantities of the following narcotic drugs, which shall include one or more active, nonnarcotic, medicinal ingredients in sufficient proportion to confer upon the compound, mixture, or preparation, valuable medicinal qualities other than those possessed by the narcotic drug alone:

1. Paregoric, U.S.P.; provided, that no person shall purchase or receive by any means whatsoever more than one fluid ounce of paregoric within a consecutive 24-hour period, except on prescription issued by a duly licensed physician.

(f) Paregoric, U.S.P., may be dispensed at retail as permitted by federal law or administrative regulation without a prescription only by a registered pharmacist and no other person, agency or employee may dispense paregoric, U.S.P., even if under the direct supervision of a pharmacist.

(g) Notwithstanding the provisions of G.S. 90-91(f), after the pharmacist has fulfilled his professional responsibilities and legal responsibilities required of him in this Article, the actual cash transaction, credit transaction, or delivery of paregoric, U.S.P., may be completed by a nonpharmacist. A pharmacist may refuse to dispense a paregoric, U.S.P., substance until he is satisfied that the product is being obtained for medicinal purposes only.

(h) Paregoric, U.S.P., may only be sold at retail without a prescription to a person at least 18 years of age. A pharmacist must require every retail purchaser of a paregoric, U.S.P., substance to furnish suitable identification, including proof of age when appropriate, in order to purchase paregoric, U.S.P. The name and address obtained from such identification shall be entered in the record of disposition to consumers.

(i) The Commission may by regulation except any compound, mixture, or preparation containing any stimulant or depressant substance listed in paragraphs (a)1 and (a)2 of this schedule from the application of all or any part of this Article if the compound, mixture, or preparation contains one or more active medicinal ingredients not having a stimulant or depressant effect on the central nervous system; and if the ingredients are included therein in such combinations, quantity, proportion, or concentration that vitiate the potential for abuse of the substances which have a stimulant or depressant effect on the central nervous system.

(j) Any material, compound, mixture, or preparation which contains any quantity of the following substances having a stimulant effect on the central nervous system, including its salts, isomers (whether optical, positional, or geometric), and salts of said isomers whenever the existence of such salts, isomers, and salts of isomers is possible within the specific chemical designation, unless specifically excluded or listed in some other schedule:

1. Benzphetamine.

2. Chlorphentermine.

3. Clortermine.

4. Repealed by Session Laws 1987, c. 412, s. 10.

5. Phendimetrazine.

(k) Anabolic steroids. The term "anabolic steroid" means any drug or hormonal substance, chemically and pharmacologically related to testosterone (other than estrogens, progestins, and corticosteroids) that promotes muscle growth, including, but not limited to, the following:

1. Methandrostenolone,

2. Stanozolol,

3. Ethylestrenol,

4. Nandrolone phenpropionate,

5. Nandrolone decanoate,

6. Testosterone propionate,

7. Chorionic gonadotropin,

8. Boldenone,

8a. Boldione,

9. Chlorotestosterone (4-chlorotestosterone),

10. Clostebol,

11. Dehydrochlormethyltestosterone,

11a. Desoxymethyltesterone (17[alpha]-methyl-5[alpha]-androst-2-en-17[beta]-ol) (also known as madol),

12. Dibydrostestosterone (4-dihydrotestosterone),

13. Drostanolone,

14. Fluoxymesterone,

15. Formebulone (formebolone),

16. Mesterolene,

17. Methandienone,

18. Methandranone,

19. Methandriol,

19a. Methasterone,

20. Methenolene,

21. Methyltestosterone,

22. Mibolerone,

23. Nandrolene,

24. Norethandrolene,

25. Oxandrolone,

26. Oxymesterone,

27. Oxymetholone,

28. Stanolone,

29. Testolactone,

30. Testosterone,

31. Trenbolone,

31a. 19-nor-4,9(10)-androstadienedione (estra-4,9(10)-diene-3,17-dione), and

32. Any salt, ester, or isomer of a drug or substance described or listed in this subsection, if that salt, ester, or isomer promotes muscle growth. Except such term does not include (i) an anabolic steroid which is expressly intended for administration through implants to cattle or other nonhuman species and which has been approved by the Secretary of Health and Human Services for such administration or (ii) chorionic gonadotropin when administered by injection for veterinary use by a licensed veterinarian or the veterinarian's designated agent. If any person prescribes, dispenses, or distributes such steroid for human use, such person shall be considered to have prescribed, dispensed, or distributed an anabolic steroid within the meaning of this subsection.

(l) Repealed by Session Laws 2001-233, s. 3(a), effective June 21, 2001.

(m) Any drug product containing gamma hydroxybutyric acid, including its salts, isomers, and salts of isomers, for which an application is approved under section 505 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.

(n) Dronabinol (synthetic) in sesame oil and encapsulated in a soft gelatin capsule in a U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved drug product. [Some other names: (6aR-trans), -6a,7,8,10a-tetrahydro-6,6,9-trimethyl-3-pentyl-6H-dibenzo [b,d]pyran-1-o1 or (-)-delta-9-(trans)-tetrahydrocannabinol]. (1971, c. 919, s. 1; 1973, c. 476, s. 128; c. 540, s. 5; c. 1358, ss. 7, 15; 1975, c. 442; 1977, c. 667, s. 3; 1979, c. 434, s. 3; 1981, c. 51, s. 9; 1987, c. 412, ss. 8-10; 1987 (Reg. Sess., 1988), c. 1055; 1991, c. 413, s. 1; 1993, c. 319, s. 5; 1999-370, s. 3; 2000-140, s. 92.2(b); 2001-233, ss. 2(b), 3(a), 3(b); 2011-326, s. 14(e); 2016-113, s. 9; 2017-115, s. 5; 2021-155, s. 5.)

 

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 12 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1972–2026 · leading case: State v. Crews, 209 S.E.2d 462 (N.C. 1974).
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State v. Crews, 209 S.E.2d 462 (N.C. 1974). · cites it 9× “§ 90-90 and G.S. § 90-91 were amended by the General Assembly so that amphetamines became a Schedule II substance.”
State v. Eaton, 707 S.E.2d 642 (N.C. Ct. App. 2011). · cites it 4× “] N.C. Gen. Stat. § 90-91 (d)(4), lists as one of the “Schedule III controlled substances],]” “[a]ny material, compound, mixture, or preparation containing limited quantities of any of the following narcotic drugs, or any salts thereof unless specifically exempted or listed in…”
State v. Stith, 787 S.E.2d 40 (N.C. Ct. App. 2016). · cites it 6× “§ 90-91 (d)(3)–(4). This flaw poses jurisdictional problems for the trial court.”
State v. Johnson, 714 S.E.2d 502 (N.C. Ct. App. 2011). · cites it 5× “See N.C. Gen. Stat. § 90-91 (d)(3)-(5) (providing descriptions of schedule III preparations of dihydrocodeinone); N.”
State v. Brunson, 693 S.E.2d 390 (N.C. Ct. App. 2010). · cites it 4× “N.C. Gen. Stat. § 90-91 (d) (2009). Ms. Dewell’s visual identification lacked sufficient indices of reliability to determine the actual substance of the pills.”
State v. Hall, 692 S.E.2d 446 (N.C. Ct. App. 2010). · cites it 2× “” N.C. Gen. Stat. § 90-91 (b)(12) (2008). Neither the presence nor the amount of ecstasy contained in each pill had any bearing on Defendant’s conviction for possession of ketamine, and vice versa.”
State v. Ellison, 713 S.E.2d 228 (N.C. Ct. App. 2011). · cites it 2× “12 N.C. Gen. Stat. § 90-91 (d); see generally State v.”
State v. Woodard, 709 S.E.2d 430 (N.C. Ct. App. 2011). · cites it 2× “N.C. Gen. Stat. § 90-91 (d)(7) (2009). The State is not required, as defendant suggests, to conduct a chemical analysis on a controlled substance in order to sustain a conviction under N.”
State v. Newton, 204 S.E.2d 724 (N.C. Ct. App. 1974). · cites it 2× “Chapter 919 of the 1971 Session Laws, codified as G.S. 90-91, classed methamphetamine as a controlled substance.”
State v. Allen (N.C. Ct. App. 2019). · cites it 2× “Defendant next notes that the trial court’s written judgment improperly classified buprenorphine as a Schedule III controlled substance, because buprenorphine was classified as a Schedule IV controlled substance on the date of the offense.”
State v. Robinson (N.C. Ct. App. 2026). · cites it 2× “§ 90-89 (2021); N.C. Gen. Stat. § 90-91 (2021); N.C. Gen.”
State v. Guy, 186 S.E.2d 663 (N.C. Ct. App. 1972). “Amphetamine is now a Schedule III controlled substance (G.S. 90-91). G.S. 90-95 (a)(1) makes its distribution or possession with intent to distribute unlawful and G.”
— N.C. Gen. Stat. § 90-91(a) — 1 case
State v. Crews, 209 S.E.2d 462 (N.C. 1974). “§ 90-90 and G.S. § 90-91 were amended by the General Assembly so that amphetamines became a Schedule II substance.”
— N.C. Gen. Stat. § 90-91(d) — 1 case
State v. Brunson, 693 S.E.2d 390 (N.C. Ct. App. 2010). “N.C. Gen. Stat. § 90-91 (d) (2009). Ms. Dewell’s visual identification lacked sufficient indices of reliability to determine the actual substance of the pills.”
— N.C. Gen. Stat. § 90-91(d)(3) — 1 case
State v. Stith, 787 S.E.2d 40 (N.C. Ct. App. 2016). “§ 90-91 (d)(3)–(4). This flaw poses jurisdictional problems for the trial court.”
— N.C. Gen. Stat. § 90-91(d)(4) — 1 case
State v. Stith, 787 S.E.2d 40 (N.C. Ct. App. 2016). “§ 90-91 (d)(3)–(4). This flaw poses jurisdictional problems for the trial court.”
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