Sodium thiopental, a drug that is used for executing the death penalty to prisoners has invited a lawsuit in Washington. This was filed by the lawyers here in the federal court on Wednesday and was made on behalf of death-row prisoners. The suit demanded the district court to prohibit the use and import of this drug from foreign suppliers as this is treated to be an illegal one. It is the U. S. Food and Drug Administration which is being forced to restrict the imports of a drug that is used in lethal injections.

This drug is always in high demand and therefore when the sole supplier in the United States ceased its production in 2009, several executions got delayed in some states. This magnetized the states to obtain it from overseas suppliers.

However, this lawsuit could create a new roadblock for the upcoming executions not only in Arizona but in many other states, including Tennessee as well.

Along with a halt for importing the drugs further, the already imported ones are expected to be removed.

With this, there is a call for a different drug, in fact; two states have already switched on to pentobarbital, which is also known as an anesthetic drug. For the time being, in Tennessee, executions have been put on hold till the result is derived regarding whether this new lethal injection procedure is legitimate or not.