Bill Text: CA AB2592 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Amended

California Assembly Bill 2592 (Prior Session Legislation)

Bill Title: Controlled substances: medicine locking closure packages: grant program.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Failed) 2016-11-30 - From committee without further action. [AB2592 Detail]

Download: California-2015-AB2592-Amended.html

BILL NUMBER: AB 2592	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 25, 2016
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 11, 2016
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MARCH 18, 2016

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Cooper

                        FEBRUARY 19, 2016

   An act to add and repeal Section 11209.3 of the Health and Safety
Code, relating to controlled substances.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 2592, as amended, Cooper. Controlled substances: medicine
locking closure packages: grant program.
   Existing law, the California Uniform Controlled Substances Act,
specifies the proper uses of, and means of prescribing, controlled
substances, as defined. Existing law prohibits a person other than a
pharmacist or an intern pharmacist, as specified, from compounding,
preparing, filling, or dispensing a prescription for a controlled
substance. A violation of these provisions is generally a misdemeanor
unless another punishment is specifically provided.
   Existing law establishes the State Department of Public Health,
which has authority over various programs promoting public health and
which may investigate, apply for, and enter into agreements to
secure federal or nongovernmental funding opportunities for the
purposes of advancing public health.
   This bill, until January 1, 2020, would  require 
 authorize  the department to establish a pilot program, as
specified, to award grants to combat opioid abuse through the safe
prescribing of opioids. The bill would require the department to
award grants, in an amount to be determined by the department, to
individual pharmacies that choose to participate in the program. The
bill would require a pharmacy that applies for and receives a grant
to offer all patients who are prescribed an opioid a medicine locking
closure package, as defined. The bill would prohibit the department
from using General Fund moneys on this program unless those moneys
are specifically appropriated for this purpose. The bill would
require the department to evaluate the effectiveness of the program
and report its findings to the Legislature no later than December 31,
2019.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
   (a) More than 4,300 people died from drug poisoning in California
in 2013.
   (b) Most drug poisonings stem from prescription medications, and
opioids are the most commonly prescribed.
   (c) Recent research by the federal Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention finds that 98 percent of all sources for abused
prescription drugs originate within the home. Only 3 percent of homes
lock up their medications.
   (d) The State Department of Public Health recently received a new
grant of more than $3.7 million to improve the safe prescribing of
opioid painkillers.
  SEC. 2.  Section 11209.3 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to
read:
   11209.3.  (a) The State Department of Public Health 
shall,   may,  to the extent funding is available,
establish a pilot program to award grants to combat opioid abuse
through the safe prescribing of opioids. Grants, in an amount
determined by the department, shall be awarded to individual
pharmacies that choose to participate in the program. Grants shall
target areas where the prevalence of prescription drug abuse is high
as determined by data that have been collected by the department and
the California Health Care Foundation.
   (b) A pharmacy that applies for and receives a grant pursuant to
this section shall offer all patients who are prescribed an opioid a
medicine locking closure package. A patient shall not receive a
medicine locking closure package unless he or she consents either
orally or in writing. Every medicine locking closure package shall be
dispensed with instructions for patient use unless the patient
indicates orally or in writing that instructions are not needed.
   (c) The State Department of Public Health shall not expend General
Fund moneys on this program unless those moneys are specifically
appropriated for this purpose. The department may seek funds from
private entities, including foundations and nonprofit organizations,
and may apply for federal or other grants, to fund the grant program.

   (d) For purposes of this section, "medicine locking closure
package" means a locking closure container,  unlocked only
with a user-generated code, that only allows the person with the
prescription to access the medicine.   accessible only
by the designated patient with a passcode, an alphanumeric code, a
key, or by another secure mechanism.  A medicine locking closure
package includes, but is not limited to, an amber prescription
container combined with a resettable alphanumerical code.
   (e) The department shall evaluate the effectiveness of the pilot
program to combat prescription drug abuse in targeted areas and
report its findings to the Legislature no later than December 31,
2019. The report shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795
of the Government Code.
   (f)  This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2020, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2020, deletes or extends
that date.