Story highlights After FDA blocks drug import, Texas amends court complaint

The drugs have become increasingly scarce and states are resorting to foreign pharmacies

(CNN) The Texas Department of Criminal Justice's battle against the US Food and Drug Administration over an impounded shipment of drugs to be used for lethal injections continued Wednesday with the state filing an amended court complaint.

The motion follows the FDA's decision last week to rule that sodium thiopental cannot be imported into the United States, blocking states from using the drugs in executions. The agency has not approved the drug's use in the United States

More than 21 months ago, the FDA detained 1,000 vials of the drug Texas authorities had purchased. The drugs sat in storage and the agency didn't issue a ruling on accessibility.

In January, the state asked the federal court in the Southern District of Texas to get the FDA to give it the right to use the drug. More than 200 people are on death row in Texas, the state said in the court filing.

The state now argues law enforcement agencies are exempt from a 2012 federal rule for new drug approval requirements.

Read More