NAPRA Cancels December NDSAC Meeting and Sets March 2027 Submission Deadline

The National Association of Pharmacy Regulatory Authorities (NAPRA) has cancelled the proposed December 6–7, 2026 meeting of the National Drug Scheduling Advisory Committee (NDSAC). NAPRA says the committee’s next meeting is scheduled for March 21–22, 2027, with drug-scheduling applications due by 4 p.m. Eastern time on January 5, 2027. The cancellation notice does not state why the December meeting was called off.

What NDSAC does

NDSAC is an expert advisory committee that reviews drug-scheduling submissions and makes recommendations about conditions of sale within the National Drug Schedules model. A committee meeting is one stage of a longer process: a review can produce an interim recommendation, followed by consultation and a final NAPRA recommendation. The recommendation’s implementation depends on the rules used in each province or territory. NAPRA’s process overview explains that sequence.

That distinction matters for frontline practice. The October 7 notice cancels a future meeting and gives a new date; it does not announce a new schedule placement, a change to the sale conditions for a specific drug, or a general change to pharmacists’ existing obligations. NAPRA’s implementation summary notes that most provinces and territories incorporate National Drug Schedule decisions by reference, while British Columbia and Quebec follow different arrangements. Pharmacy teams should continue to check the applicable provincial or territorial rules for the drug in question.

New timing for applicants

For organizations preparing an application, the next announced date is March 21–22, 2027, and NAPRA lists January 5, 2027 at 4 p.m. ET as the submission deadline. The committee’s meeting page says NAPRA must receive the application documents in PDF and the scheduling fee by electronic funds transfer at least 75 days before the meeting. It also says no more than two submissions are reviewed at a meeting.

Planning time is limited across the year-end period. NAPRA notes that its office will be closed from December 24, 2026 through January 3, 2027, and advises applicants to arrange any invoice or payment steps well in advance. Its submission instructions say invoice preparation can take up to three weeks. If an organization had been preparing for the cancelled December meeting, the October 7 announcement does not explain how any prior submission or application fee will be handled; the applicant should contact the NDSAC Secretariat rather than assume it has been transferred or refunded.

Practice guidance for pharmacists

• Continue applying the current provincial or territorial schedule and conditions of sale; the meeting cancellation itself is not a schedule amendment.
• When a drug’s status is unclear, check the current NAPRA schedule and the local regulator or legislation instead of inferring status from a pending or cancelled committee meeting.
• Applicants targeting the March meeting should calendar January 5 at 4 p.m. ET and confirm PDF, EFT and invoice requirements directly with NAPRA.
• Organizations that had prepared for December should ask NAPRA what happens to any submitted materials, fees or review queue; the cancellation notice does not specify.
• Follow NAPRA’s later interim and final recommendations, then verify how the relevant jurisdiction implements them before changing dispensing or sale workflows.

Primary NAPRA references

• Cancellation of NDSAC Meeting of December 6–7, 2026, October 7, 2026
• NDSAC meeting schedule and submission deadlines
• National Drug Schedules implementation across Canada