Bill Text: NJ S996 | 2018-2019 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires pharmacies to install and maintain secure prescription medication drop-off receptacles, and Division of Consumer Affairs to post receptacle location information online.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-01-16 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee [S996 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2018-S996-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator JOSEPH F. VITALE
District 19 (Middlesex)
SYNOPSIS
Requires pharmacies to install and maintain secure prescription medication drop-off receptacles, and Division of Consumer Affairs to post receptacle location information online.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning the collection and disposal of medications and supplementing P.L.2003, c.280 (C.45:14-40 et seq.).
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. A pharmacy practice site that dispenses prescription drugs and medications shall install and maintain a prescription medication drop-off receptacle wherein unused or expired prescription drugs and other common household medications may be anonymously deposited by members of the public. The prescription medication drop-off receptacle shall be made accessible to the public during the pharmacy practice site's ordinary business hours.
b. A pharmacy practice site shall obtain such registrations, licenses, and authorizations as may be required by federal law to comply with the provisions of this act. In the event that an application for a necessary registration, license, or authorization is denied by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration or any other federal agency, the pharmacy practice site shall take such steps as may be necessary to address any obstacles to approval of the application, and shall reapply for the registration, license, or authorization at the earliest date possible.
c. Within one year after the effective date of this act, every pharmacy practice site located in this State shall have installed a prescription medication drop-off receptacle, and shall have met all other requirements necessary for compliance with this act, except that the Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety may grant a waiver allowing a pharmacy practice site additional time to comply with these requirements, or an exemption from the requirements of this act, for which waiver the pharmacy practice site shall apply on a form and in a manner prescribed by the director. Such waiver shall be granted by the director if the pharmacy practice site can demonstrate to the director's satisfaction that the failure to grant such a waiver would pose a serious financial hardship to the pharmacy practice site or that the pharmacy practice site has been or will be, for reasons outside the control of the pharmacy practice site, unable to obtain the federal registrations, licenses, or authorizations necessary to comply with the requirements of this act.
d. Prescription drugs and other household medications deposited in a prescription medication drop-off receptacle shall be destroyed or otherwise disposed of consistent with applicable federal, State, and local law. Such disposal may include on-site destruction, or transport or transfer to a person or entity authorized to accept controlled dangerous substances for the purpose of destroying the substances.
e. Until such time as a pharmacy practice site installs a prescription medication drop-off receptacle on its premises and satisfies any other requirements as may be necessary to comply with this act, the pharmacy practice site shall display, in a conspicuous location, notice informing members of the public of the location of the closest law enforcement agency where a secure prescription medication drop-off receptacle is located.
f. The Division of Consumer Affairs shall post on its Internet website a list of all secure prescription medication drop-off locations in the State, including the hours of operation at each location. The list shall include receptacles maintained by the division, receptacles located at pharmacy practice sites, and receptacles located at participating law enforcement agencies, as well as any receptacle located in the State that is approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration. The website shall also contain information about mobile receptacles and collection events.
g. A person, including an employee of a pharmacy practice site, shall not be liable in any civil or criminal proceeding or subject to administrative disciplinary action for damages arising out of an action taken by that person in good faith in connection with the administration or implementation of the provisions of this act, unless such damages are the direct result of the gross negligence, recklessness, or knowing misconduct of the person. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to limit or constrain in any way a prosecution for a violation of an offense defined in chapter 35 or chapter 36 of Title 2C of the New Jersey Statutes.
2. Pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), the Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs shall adopt rules and regulations necessary to effectuate the provisions of this act.
3. This act shall take effect on the first day of the seventh month next following enactment, except that the Division of Consumer Affairs may take such anticipatory administrative action in advance thereof as shall be necessary for the implementation of this act.
STATEMENT
This bill requires pharmacy practice sites that dispense prescription drugs and medications to install and maintain a prescription medication drop-off receptacle, wherein unused or expired prescription drugs and other common household medications may be anonymously deposited by members of the public.
A pharmacy practice site would be required to make its receptacle accessible to the public during the pharmacy practice site's ordinary business hours. Each pharmacy practice site will be required to obtain such registrations, licenses, and authorizations as may be required under federal law to enable the pharmacy to comply with the provisions of the bill. Prescription drugs and other medications deposited in the receptacles would be destroyed in a manner consistent with federal, State, and local laws, which may include on-site destruction or transport or transfer to a person or entity authorized to accept controlled dangerous substances for the purpose of destroying the substances.
The bill requires every pharmacy practice site to install a receptacle and meet any other requirements necessary to comply with the bill within one year after the effective date of the bill, but allows the Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety to grant a waiver allowing a pharmacy practice site additional time to comply with the requirements of the bill, or a complete exemption from these requirements, in situations involving serious financial hardship or where a pharmacy practice site can demonstrate it has been or will be unable to obtain a necessary registration, license, or authorization.
Until such time as a pharmacy practice site installs a prescription medication drop-off receptacle on its premises and satisfies any other necessary requirements, the pharmacy practice site will be required to display, in a conspicuous location, notice informing members of the public of the location of the closest law enforcement agency where a secure prescription medication drop-off receptacle is located.
The Division of Consumer Affairs will be required to post on its Internet website a list of the locations of all secure prescription medication drop-off locations in the State, including the hours of operation at each location. The list will include receptacles maintained by the division, receptacles located at pharmacy practice sites, and receptacles located at participating law enforcement agencies, as well as any receptacle located in the State that is approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration. The website will also include information about mobile receptacles and collection events.
The bill would provide immunity from civil and criminal liability and administrative disciplinary action for damages arising out of an action taken by an individual, including an employee of a pharmacy practice site, in good faith in connection with the administration or implementation of the provisions of the bill. However, this immunity would not extend to damages that are the direct result of the gross negligence, recklessness, or knowing misconduct of the person, and would not be construed to limit or constrain in any way a prosecution for a criminal offense involving illegal drugs under the "Comprehensive Drug Reform Act of 1987."
