Citations Affected: IC 34-30; IC 35-31.5; IC 35-46; IC 35-48.
Synopsis: Control of ephedrine and pseudoephedrine. Specifies that
ephedrine or pseudoephedrine: (1) may be sold only by a pharmacy or
a retailer that uses the NPLEx tracking system. Provides that: (1) a
pharmacy may not sell more than 61.2 grams of ephedrine or
pseudoephedrine to an individual in a 365 day period; and (2) an
individual may not purchase more than 61.2 grams of ephedrine or
pseudoephedrine in a 365 day period. Prohibits a person convicted of
certain offenses involving methamphetamine from possessing
ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, or phenylpropanolamine within seven
years of the person's conviction, unless dispensed under a prescription.
Increases the penalty for furnishing methamphetamine precursors to
another person with knowledge that the recipient will use the
precursors to manufacture a controlled substance if the person
furnishes more than 10 grams of certain precursors. Removes a
provision requiring certain signage where ephedrine or
pseudoephedrine is sold.
Effective: July 1, 2013.
January 14, 2013, read first time and referred to Committee on Corrections & Criminal
Law.
January 31, 2013, amended, reported favorably _ Do Pass.
February 5, 2013, read second time, amended, ordered engrossed.
February 6, 2013, engrossed.
February 7, 2013, pursuant to Senate Rule 35(c), Technical Correction.
February 8, 2013, re-engrossed.
February 11, 2013, read third time, passed. Yeas 44, nays 4.
A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning
criminal law and procedure.
IC 35-48-4-14.7, has the meaning set forth in IC 35-48-4-14.7(b)(6)
IC 35-48-4-14.7.
or precursors with intent to manufacture a controlled substance;
or
(2) two (2) or more chemical reagents or precursors with intent to
manufacture a controlled substance in, on, or within one thousand
(1,000) feet of:
(A) school property;
(B) a public park;
(C) a family housing complex; or
(D) a youth program center.
(g) A person who sells, transfers, distributes, or furnishes a chemical
reagent or precursor to another person with knowledge or the intent that
the recipient will use the chemical reagent or precursors to manufacture
a controlled substance commits unlawful sale of a precursor, a Class D
felony. However, the offense is a Class C felony if the person sells,
transfers, distributes, or furnishes more than ten (10) grams of
ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, or phenylpropanolamine.
(h) This subsection does not apply to a drug containing
ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, or phenylpropanolamine that is
dispensed under a prescription. A person who:
(1) has been convicted of:
(A) dealing in methamphetamine (IC 35-48-4-1.1);
(B) possession of more than ten (10) grams of ephedrine,
pseudoephedrine, or phenylpropanolamine (subsection
(b));
(C) possession of anhydrous ammonia or ammonia solution
(as defined in IC 22-11-20-1) with intent to manufacture
methamphetamine or amphetamine (subsection (c));
(D) possession of two (2) or more chemical reagents or
precursors with the intent to manufacture a controlled
substance (subsection (e)); or
(E) unlawful sale of a precursor (subsection (g)); and
(2) not later than seven (7) years from the date the person was
sentenced for the offense;
knowingly or intentionally possesses ephedrine, pseudoephedrine,
or phenylpropanolamine, pure or adulterated, commits possession
of a precursor by a methamphetamine offender, a Class D felony.
does not include a pharmacy or NPLEx retailer.
(6) (7) "Suspicious order" means a sale or transfer of a drug
containing ephedrine or pseudoephedrine if the sale or transfer:
(A) is a sale or transfer that the retail distributor, wholesaler,
or manufacturer is required to report to the United States Drug
Enforcement Administration;
(B) appears suspicious to the retail distributor, wholesaler, or
manufacturer in light of the recommendations contained in
Appendix A of the report to the United States attorney general
by the suspicious orders task force under the federal
Comprehensive Methamphetamine Control Act of 1996; or
(C) is for cash or a money order in a total amount of at least
two hundred dollars ($200).
(7) (8) "Unusual theft" means the theft or unexplained
disappearance from a particular retail store pharmacy or NPLEx
retailer of drugs containing ten (10) grams or more of ephedrine,
pseudoephedrine, or both in a twenty-four (24) hour period.
(c) A drug containing ephedrine or pseudoephedrine may be
sold only by a pharmacy or NPLEx retailer. A retailer may not sell
a drug containing ephedrine or pseudoephedrine.
(c) (d) This subsection does not apply to a convenience package. A
retailer pharmacy or NPLEx retailer may sell a drug that contains the
active ingredient of ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, or both only if the
retailer pharmacy or NPLEx retailer complies with the following
conditions:
(1) The retailer pharmacy or NPLEx retailer does not sell the
drug to a person less than eighteen (18) years of age.
(2) The retailer pharmacy or NPLEx retailer does not sell drugs
containing more than:
(A) three and six-tenths (3.6) grams of ephedrine or
pseudoephedrine, or both, to one (1) individual on one (1) day;
or
(B) seven and two-tenths (7.2) grams of ephedrine or
pseudoephedrine, or both, to one (1) individual in a thirty (30)
day period; or
(C) sixty-one and two-tenths (61.2) grams of ephedrine or
pseudoephedrine, or both, to one (1) individual in a three
hundred sixty-five (365) day period.
(3) The retailer pharmacy or NPLEx retailer requires:
(A) the purchaser to produce a valid government issued photo
identification card showing the date of birth of the person;
(B) the purchaser to sign a written or electronic log attesting
to the validity of the information; and
(C) the clerk who is conducting the transaction to initial or
electronically record the clerk's identification on the log.
Records from the completion of a log must be retained for at least
two (2) years. A law enforcement officer has the right to inspect
and copy a log or the records from the completion of a log in
accordance with state and federal law. A retailer pharmacy or
NPLEx retailer may not sell or release a log or the records from
the completion of a log for a commercial purpose. The Indiana
criminal justice institute may obtain information concerning a log
or the records from the completion of a log from a law
enforcement officer if the information may not be used to identify
a specific individual and is used only for statistical purposes. A
retailer who pharmacy or NPLEx retailer that in good faith
releases information maintained under this subsection is immune
from civil liability unless the release constitutes gross negligence
or intentional, wanton, or willful misconduct.
(4) The retailer pharmacy or NPLEx retailer maintains a record
of information for each sale of a nonprescription product
containing pseudoephedrine or ephedrine. Required information
includes:
(A) the name and address of each purchaser;
(B) the type of identification presented;
(C) the governmental entity that issued the identification;
(D) the identification number; and
(E) the ephedrine or pseudoephedrine product purchased,
including the number of grams the product contains and the
date and time of the transaction.
(5) Beginning January 1, 2012, a retailer pharmacy or NPLEx
retailer shall, except as provided in subdivision (6), before
completing a sale of an over-the-counter product containing
pseudoephedrine or ephedrine, electronically submit the required
information to the National Precursor Log Exchange (NPLEx)
administered by the National Association of Drug Diversion
Investigators (NADDI), if the NPLEx system is available to
retailers pharmacies or NPLEx retailers in the state without a
charge for accessing the system. The retailer pharmacy or
NPLEx retailer may not complete the sale if the system
generates a stop sale alert.
(6) If a retailer pharmacy or NPLEx retailer selling an
over-the-counter product containing ephedrine or
pseudoephedrine experiences mechanical or electronic failure of
the electronic sales tracking system and is unable to comply with
the electronic sales tracking requirement, the retailer pharmacy
or NPLEx retailer shall maintain a written log or an alternative
electronic recordkeeping mechanism until the retailer pharmacy
or NPLEx retailer is able to comply with the electronic sales
tracking requirement.
(7) The retailer pharmacy or NPLEx retailer stores the drug
behind a counter in an area inaccessible to a customer or in a
locked display case that makes the drug unavailable to a customer
without the assistance of an employee.
(8) The retailer posts a sign warning that:
(A) it is a criminal offense for a person to purchase drugs
containing more than seven and two-tenths (7.2) grams of
ephedrine or pseudoephedrine, or both, in a thirty (30) day
period;
(B) it is a criminal offense for a person to purchase drugs
containing more than three and six-tenths (3.6) grams of
ephedrine or pseudoephedrine, or both, on one (1) day; and
(C) depending on the amount of ephedrine or pseudoephedrine
contained in the drug, purchasing more than one (1) package
of drugs containing ephedrine or pseudoephedrine on one (1)
day may be a crime.
The warning sign must list maximum amounts of ephedrine or
pseudoephedrine that may be purchased in both grams and
milligrams.
(d) (e) A person may not purchase drugs containing more than:
(1) three and six-tenths (3.6) grams of ephedrine or
pseudoephedrine, or both, on one (1) day; or more than
(2) seven and two-tenths (7.2) grams of ephedrine or
pseudoephedrine, or both, in a thirty (30) day period; or
(3) sixty-one and two-tenths (61.2) grams of ephedrine or
pseudoephedrine, or both, in a three hundred sixty-five (365)
day period.
These limits apply to the total amount of base ephedrine and
pseudoephedrine contained in the products and not to the overall
weight of the products.
(e) (f) This subsection only applies to convenience packages. A
retailer may not sell drugs containing more than sixty (60) milligrams
of ephedrine or pseudoephedrine, or both in any one (1) transaction if
the drugs are sold in convenience packages. A pharmacy or NPLEx
retailer who that sells convenience packages must secure the
convenience packages behind the counter in an area inaccessible to a
customer or in a locked display case that makes the drug unavailable
to a customer without the assistance of an employee.
(f) (g) A retail distributor, wholesaler, or manufacturer shall report
a suspicious order to the state police department in writing.
(g) (h) Not later than three (3) days after the discovery of an unusual
theft at a particular retail store, the retailer pharmacy or NPLEx
retailer shall report the unusual theft to the state police department in
writing. If three (3) unusual thefts occur in a thirty (30) day period at
a particular retail store, pharmacy or NPLEx retailer, the retailer
pharmacy or NPLEx retailer shall, for at least one hundred eighty
(180) days after the date of the last unusual theft, locate all drugs
containing ephedrine or pseudoephedrine at that particular retail store
pharmacy or NPLEx retailer behind a counter in an area inaccessible
to a customer or in a locked display case that makes the drug
unavailable to customers without the assistance of an employee.
(h) (i) A unit (as defined in IC 36-1-2-23) may not adopt an
ordinance after February 1, 2005, that is more stringent than this
section.
(i) (j) A person who knowingly or intentionally violates this section
commits a Class C misdemeanor. However, the offense is a Class A
misdemeanor if the person has a prior unrelated conviction under this
section.
(j) (k) A retailer who pharmacy or NPLEx retailer that uses the
electronic sales tracking system in accordance with this section is
immune from civil liability for any act or omission committed in
carrying out the duties required by this section, unless the act or
omission was due to negligence, recklessness, or deliberate or wanton
misconduct. A retailer pharmacy or NPLEx retailer is immune from
liability to a third party unless the retailer pharmacy or NPLEx
retailer has violated a provision of this section and the third party
brings an action based on the retailer's pharmacy's or NPLEx
retailer's violation of this section.
(k) (l) The following requirements apply to the NPLEx:
(1) Information contained in the NPLEx may be shared only with
law enforcement officials.
(2) A law enforcement official may access Indiana transaction
information maintained in the NPLEx for investigative purposes.
(3) NADDI may not modify sales transaction data that is shared
with law enforcement officials.
(4) At least one (1) time per week, NADDI shall forward Indiana
data contained in the NPLEx, including data concerning a
transaction that could not be completed due to the issuance of a
stop sale alert, to the state police department.