In West Virginia, WV CSR 15-2-7.11.1 governs the partial fill of Schedule II controlled substances. This rule requires the remaining portion of the prescription to be filled within seventy-two (72) hours of the partial filling. No further quantity of controlled substances may be supplied beyond seventy-two (72) hours without a new prescription.
At the federal level, Sec. 702 of the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2016 controls the partial fill of Schedule II controlled substances. The federal rule states that in emergency situations a partially filled prescription for a controlled substance in Schedule II shall be filled not later than seventy-two (72) hours after the prescription is issued. However, in general, not when dealing with emergency situations, remaining portions of a partially filled prescription for a Schedule II controlled substance shall be filled not later than thirty (30) days after the date on which the prescription is written.
The difference between the partial fill rules at the state and federal level is that the state rule does not distinguish between emergency situations and other prescriptions. All prescriptions must be fully filled within the seventy-two (72) hour window. However, the federal rule treats emergency prescriptions and other prescriptions differently. The federal rule, while requiring emergency prescriptions to be filled within seventy-two (72) hours, allows thirty (30) days for the remaining balance of other partially filled prescriptions to be filled.