Court Says No: Missouri Law Silencing Pharmacists Struck Down

Missouri’s pharmacist gag law made headlines and now it’s been struck down in court. The law in question stopped pharmacists from bringing up the effectiveness (or lack thereof) of ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19 unless a doctor or patient brought it up first. But now a federal judge has said the Missouri pharmacist gag law’s got to go.

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How the Law Tried to Silence Pharmacists—and What the Judge Did About It

Back in 2022, Missouri passed a statute that stopped pharmacists from initiating conversations about these two medications in the context of COVID-19. They couldn’t tell a patient, “Hey, this might not work the way you think.” The latest research and the FDA didn’t matter; the pharmacist’s job, at least under this law, was to dispense and stay silent.

St. Louis pharmacist Ashley Stock wasn’t comfortable with that. She believed the law put her in a tough position—either speak up and risk breaking the law, or stay quiet and potentially leave patients in the dark. So she took the issue to court, arguing that the law violated her right to free speech under the First Amendment.

Fast forward to April 2025: A federal judge ruled in her favor. The court said the law was unconstitutional because it placed restrictions on certain kinds of speech—specifically, it singled out conversations that questioned the effectiveness of ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine. That kind of “you can say this, but not that” approach? That didn’t fly. Judge Greg Kays found that the law’s gag order on questioning drug efficacy clashed directly with the free speech protections guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution.

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