The United Kingdom has introduced restictions on the exportation of propofol after officials in Missouri announced they would begin using the anesthetic in executions. Exports of sodium thiopental, another anesthetic previously used in executions, were restricted after several states obtained that drug from DreamPharma, a drug company run out of the back of a driving school in London. Vince Cable, the U.K. Business Secretary, said, "This country opposes the death penalty. We are clear that the state should never be complicit in judiciary executions through the use of British drugs in lethal injections." The ban will not prevent export of the drug for medical purposes.
Missouri is the first state to announce its intention to use propofol in executions. All executions in 2012 have used the anesthetic pentobarbital. Lundbeck, Inc., the Danish producer of pentobarbital, announced restrictions on its distribution to avoid its use in lethal injections. Recently, manufacturing rights were transferred to a U.S. company, Akorn, Inc., but restrictions on pentobarbital's use were to stay in place. This week, Texas announced that it will begin using pentobarbital in a new one-drug protocol for executions. Four other states have already used a one-drug procedure. Oklahoma, which had previously stated that it had only enough pentobarbital for one more execution, announced on July 11 that it had acquired 20 additional doses from an unnamed source.
Missouri State Senator Gina Walsh recently voiced her support for Senate Bill 247, a bill to repeal the death penalty and replace it with life without parole. Sen. Walsh cited the lack of deterrence and unfairness as her primary concerns about capital punishment. "It doesn't deter crime. It discriminates against racial minorities and poor people who can't afford attorneys,” Walsh said. The bill was recently heard in the Judiciary and Civil and Criminal Jurisprudence Committee of the senate. Missouri has carried out two executions since 2005, and 68 since 1976. The state ranks 5th in the country in executions. Sen. Walsh called the death penalty “as much of a pro-life issue as abortion.” Although she said she was aware many of her constituents would not agree with her, she said, "I think when people are educated, support for the death penalty diminishes substantially. I don't think I could sit, as a human being, on a jury...and put someone to death."
The main supplier to the U.S. of a drug proposed for 
The Missouri Department of Corrections has announced that it is switching from a three-drug lethal injection protocol to a single-drug method, using Propofol. Missouri would be the first state to use Propofol (Diprivan) as an execution drug.The drug is manufactured by AstraZeneca. At least one medical expert has questioned whether the new execution drug is appropriate. Missouri’s written protocol does not require a physician to be a part of the execution team. Dr. Jonathan Groner, an Ohio State University surgeon who has studied lethal injection extensively, said that improper administration of the drug could cause pain at the injection site. Dr. Groner said high doses of Propofol will cause respiratory arrest, but the dosage must be accurate and the process must move swiftly because the drug wears off in just a few minutes. According to Dr. Groner, "If they start breathing before the heart stops, they might not die.” It is not clear when Propofol would first be used in an execution. Missouri has scheduled an execution for August 3, but some appeals remain. The state has carried out only two executions in the last seven years.