Washington D.C. — On Friday, March 28, a federal court struck down a Missouri law that barred pharmacists from sharing their own opinions about two controversial COVID-19 treatments—ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine. The court ruled that the Missouri law violated the First Amendment’s free speech protections.
The law, known as § 338.055.7, RSMo., made it illegal for Missouri pharmacists to talk to doctors or patients about concerns over the effectiveness of these drugs. The Hamilton Lincoln Law Institute (HLLI), representing Missouri pharmacist Ashley Stock, challenged the law back in 2022. A federal judge initially paused the law in 2023, siding with Stock and HLLI. Now, that decision has been made permanent—Missouri cannot enforce the law.
The constitutional principles underpinning the court’s decision are simple. If a government entity regulates speech, it may not do so in a way that discriminates against certain viewpoints. But that’s exactly what this law did; it sought to silence scientific debate by saying that pharmacists may “tout” the effectiveness of these two drugs but may not “dispute” it. In other words, Missouri allowed pharmacists to promote the use of ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine—but silenced anyone who disagreed.
Just because pharmacists are professionals doesn’t mean they give up their First Amendment rights. The Supreme Court recognized in Nat’l Institute for Fam. and Life Advocates v. Becerra, 585 U.S. 755, 771 (2018), a free market for ideas is all the more necessary “[i]n the fields of medicine and public health” where “information can save lives.” The court observed that even the state’s expert “with his decades of experience in the regulation of pharmacy practice, agreed that the speech ban is ‘unique,’ and he has ‘not seen it in any other format’ or ‘any other arena.’”
HLLI Senior Attorney and lead counsel for the case, Adam Schulman, stated, “For a second time, the court got it exactly right. Missouri can take whatever position it wishes on the sadly politicized issue of these two drugs. What it can’t do is enlist private pharmacists to act as the mouthpiece of the government’s views.”
The name of the case is Stock v. Gray, et al., 2:22-cv-4104-NKL (W.D. Mo.).
For more information about this case, please see our case page or contact the attorney below:
Adam Schulman, Senior Attorney, (610) 457-0856, adam.schulman@hlli.org.
* * *
The Hamilton Lincoln Law Institute is a public interest law firm that represents the underrepresented and steps in where the legal system has failed everyday Americans.
As a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization as defined by section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, HLLI relies on support from individuals and foundations that share a commitment to individual liberty, free enterprise, and limited government. To learn more, visit http://www.hlli.org.