Citations Affected: IC 35-48-4-14.7.
Synopsis: Local ordinances concerning ephedrine sales. Permits a
local government unit to adopt an ordinance regulating the sale of
ephedrine or pseudoephedrine that is more stringent than state law.
Effective: July 1, 2012.
January 4, 2012, read first time and referred to Committee on Public Health.
A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning
criminal law and procedure.
manufacturer, the person is required to report a suspicious order
to the state police department in accordance with subsection (f).
(b) The following definitions apply throughout this section:
(1) "Constant video monitoring" means the surveillance by an
automated camera that:
(A) records at least one (1) photograph or digital image every
ten (10) seconds;
(B) retains a photograph or digital image for at least
seventy-two (72) hours;
(C) has sufficient resolution and magnification to permit the
identification of a person in the area under surveillance; and
(D) stores a recorded photograph or digital image at a location
that is immediately accessible to a law enforcement officer.
(2) "Convenience package" means a package that contains a drug
having as an active ingredient not more than sixty (60) milligrams
of ephedrine or pseudoephedrine, or both.
(3) "Ephedrine" means pure or adulterated ephedrine.
(4) "Pseudoephedrine" means pure or adulterated
pseudoephedrine.
(5) "Retailer" means a grocery store, general merchandise store,
drug store, or other similar establishment where ephedrine or
pseudoephedrine products are available for sale.
(6) "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) "Unusual theft" means the theft or unexplained disappearance
from a particular retail store of drugs containing ten (10) grams or
more of ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, or both in a twenty-four (24)
hour period.
(c) This subsection does not apply to a convenience package. A
retailer may sell a drug that contains the active ingredient of ephedrine,
pseudoephedrine, or both only if the retailer complies with the
following conditions:
Drug Diversion Investigators (NADDI), if the NPLEx system is
available to retailers in the state without a charge for accessing
the system. The retailer may not complete the sale if the system
generates a stop sale alert.
(6) If a 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 shall maintain a written log or an alternative electronic
recordkeeping mechanism until the retailer is able to comply with
the electronic sales tracking requirement.
(7) The 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) A person may not purchase drugs containing more than three
and six-tenths (3.6) grams of ephedrine or pseudoephedrine, or both,
on one (1) day, or more than seven and two-tenths (7.2) grams of
ephedrine or pseudoephedrine, or both, in a thirty (30) 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) 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 retailer who 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) A retail distributor, wholesaler, or manufacturer shall report a
suspicious order to the state police department in writing.
(g) Not later than three (3) days after the discovery of an unusual
theft at a particular retail store, the 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, the 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 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) 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) 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) A retailer who 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 is immune from liability
to a third party unless the retailer has violated a provision of this
section and the third party brings an action based on the retailer's
violation of this section.
(k) 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.