AN ACT

 

1Amending the act of April 14, 1972 (P.L.233, No.64), entitled
2"An act relating to the manufacture, sale and possession of
3controlled substances, other drugs, devices and cosmetics;
4conferring powers on the courts and the secretary and
5Department of Health, and a newly created Pennsylvania Drug,
6Device and Cosmetic Board; establishing schedules of
7controlled substances; providing penalties; requiring
8registration of persons engaged in the drug trade and for the
9revocation or suspension of certain licenses and
10registrations; and repealing an act," further providing for 
11definitions and for prohibited acts and penalties; and
12providing for ephedrine and pseudoephedrine and electronic
13tracking.

14The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
15hereby enacts as follows:

16Section 1. Section 2(b) of the act of April 14, 1972
17(P.L.233, No.64), known as The Controlled Substance, Drug,
18Device and Cosmetic Act, is amended by adding definitions to
19read:

20Section 2. Definitions.--* * *

21(b) As used in this act:

22* * *

1"Real-time stop sale system" means a system intended to be
2used by law enforcement agencies and pharmacies or other
3business establishments that:

4(1) is installed, operated and maintained free of any one-
5time or recurring charge to the business establishment or to the
6Commonwealth;

7(2) is able to communicate in real time with similar systems
8operated in other states and similar systems containing
9information submitted by more than one state;

10(3) complies with the security policy of the Criminal
11Justice Information Services Division of the Federal Bureau of
12Investigation;

13(4) complies with information exchange standards adopted by
14the National Information Exchange Model;

15(5) uses a mechanism to prevent the completion of a sale of
16a product containing ephedrine, pseudoephedrine or
17norpseudoephedrine that would violate Federal or State law
18regarding the purchase of a product containing those substances;
19and

20(6) is equipped with an override of the mechanism that:

21(i) may be activated by an employe of a business
22establishment; and

23(ii) creates a record of each activation of the override.

24* * *

25Section 2. Section 13(a)(40) and (c) of the act, amended or
26added November 23, 2010 (P.L.1081, No.107), are amended to read:

27Section 13. Prohibited Acts; Penalties.--(a) The following
28acts and the causing thereof within the Commonwealth are hereby
29prohibited:

30* * *

1(40) [The sale at retail of any product containing
2ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, phenylpropanolamine, or any of their
3salts, optical isomers or salts of optical isomers as the sole
4active ingredient unless one of the following applies:

5(i) The product is offered for sale behind a counter where
6the public is not permitted.

7(ii) The product is offered for sale within a locked cabinet 
8that is located in an area of the facility involved to which 
9customers do have direct access.] (Reserved).

10* * *

11(c) Any person who violates the provisions of clauses (21),
12(22), (24)[, (39) and (40)] and (39) of subsection (a) shall be
13guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall, on conviction thereof, be
14punished only as follows:

15(1) Upon conviction of the first such offense, he shall be
16sentenced to imprisonment not exceeding six months, or to pay a
17fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or both.

18(2) Upon conviction of the second and subsequent offense, he
19shall be sentenced to imprisonment not exceeding two years, or
20to pay a fine not exceeding twenty-five thousand dollars
21($25,000), or both.

22* * *

23Section 3. The act is amended by adding a section to read:

24Section 13.6. Ephedrine and Pseudoephedrine; Electronic 
25Tracking.--(a) Retailers shall be prohibited from making sales 
26to an individual of, and an individual shall be prohibited from 
27purchasing, ephedrine or pseudoephedrine base, or their salts, 
28isomers or salts of isomers in excess of the following amounts:

29(1) 3.6 grams of ephedrine or pseudoephedrine base contained
30in a product or combination of products per day.

1(2) 9 grams of ephedrine or pseudoephedrine base contained
2in a product or combination of products per thirty-day period.

3(b) Nonprescription products containing ephedrine or
4pseudoephedrine shall be maintained behind the counter or in a
5locked case where the customer does not have direct access.

6(c) A retailer shall require any person purchasing a 
7nonprescription product that contains ephedrine or 
8pseudoephedrine to present a valid government-issued photo 
9identification, or other document considered acceptable under 
10Federal law for this purpose, at the point of sale. The retailer 
11shall record the following:

12(1) Name and address of the purchaser.

13(2) Name and quantity of product purchased.

14(3) Date and time of purchase.

15(4) Purchaser identification type and number, such as
16driver's license state and number, and require the purchaser's
17signature in a logbook.

18(d) Beginning January 1, 2014, a retailer shall, before
19completing a sale under this section, electronically submit the
20required information to the real-time stop sale system
21administered by the department, provided that the system is
22available without a charge to retailers for access. Absent
23negligence, wantonness, recklessness or deliberate misconduct,
24any retailer using the electronic sales tracking system in
25accordance with this subsection shall not be civilly liable as a
26result of any act or omission in carrying out the duties
27required by this subsection and shall be immune from liability
28to any third party unless the retailer has violated any
29provision of this subsection in relation to a claim brought for
30such violation.

1(e) If a retailer selling a nonprescription product 
2containing ephedrine or pseudoephedrine experiences mechanical 
3or electronic failure of the electronic sales tracking system 
4and is unable to comply with the electronic sales tracking 
5requirement, the retailer shall maintain a written log or an 
6alternative electronic recordkeeping mechanism until such time 
7as the retailer is able to comply with the electronic sales 
8tracking requirement. A retailer that does not have Internet 
9access to the electronic sales tracking system is compliant with 
10the requirements of this section if the retailer maintains a 
11written log or an alternative recordkeeping mechanism.

12(f) The vendor of the real-time stop sale system shall
13forward State transaction records in the real-time stop sale
14system to the department weekly and provide real-time access to
15the real-time stop sale system information through the system's
16online portal to law enforcement in this Commonwealth as
17authorized by the department.

18(g) The department shall work with the real-time stop sale 
19system to ensure that the real-time stop sale system shall be 
20capable of generating a stop sale alert, which shall be a 
21notification that completion of the sale would result in the 
22seller or purchaser violating the quantity limits set forth in 
23this section. The seller shall not complete the sale if the 
24electronic system generates a stop sale alert. The department 
25shall work with the real-time stop sale system to ensure that 
26the system contains an override function that may be used by a 
27retailer of ephedrine or pseudoephedrine who has a reasonable 
28fear of imminent bodily harm if it does not complete a sale. 
29Each instance in which the override function is used shall be 
30logged by the system.

1(h) A violation of any provision of this section is a
2misdemeanor, punishable by fine only.

3(i) This section does not apply to a person who obtains the
4product pursuant to a valid prescription.

5(j) This section shall supersede any other laws or
6regulations governing the sales of products containing ephedrine
7or pseudoephedrine.

8Section 4. This act shall take effect in 270 days.