2016 Connecticut General Statutes
Title 21a - Consumer Protection
Chapter 420b - Dependency-Producing Drugs
Section 21a-246 - (Formerly Sec. 19-453). License to manufacture, wholesale, supply, compound, etc. Exception. License fees. License to possess and supply marijuana.

(a) No person within this state shall manufacture, wholesale, repackage, supply, compound, mix, cultivate or grow, or by other process produce or prepare, controlled substances without first obtaining a license to do so from the Commissioner of Consumer Protection and no person within this state shall operate a laboratory for the purpose of research or analysis using controlled substances without first obtaining a license to do so from the Commissioner of Consumer Protection, except that such activities by pharmacists or pharmacies in the filling and dispensing of prescriptions or activities incident thereto, or the dispensing or administering of controlled substances by dentists, podiatrists, physicians, advanced practice registered nurses or veterinarians, or other persons acting under their supervision, in the treatment of patients shall not be subject to the provisions of this section, and provided laboratories for instruction in dentistry, medicine, nursing, pharmacy, pharmacology and pharmacognosy in institutions duly licensed for such purposes in this state shall not be subject to the provisions of this section except with respect to narcotic drugs and schedule I and II controlled substances. Upon application of any physician licensed pursuant to chapter 370 or an advanced practice registered nurse licensed pursuant to chapter 378, the Commissioner of Consumer Protection shall without unnecessary delay, (1) license such physician to possess and supply marijuana for the treatment of glaucoma or the side effects of chemotherapy, or (2) license such advanced practice registered nurse to possess and supply marijuana for the treatment of the side effects of chemotherapy. No person outside this state shall sell or supply controlled substances within this state without first obtaining a license to do so from the Commissioner of Consumer Protection, provided no such license shall be required of a manufacturer whose principal place of business is located outside this state and who is registered with the federal Drug Enforcement Administration or other federal agency, and who files a copy of such registration with the appropriate licensing authority under this chapter.

(b) Such licenses shall expire annually, and may be renewed by application to the licensing authority. The Commissioner of Consumer Protection following a hearing as prescribed in section 21a-275, may revoke or suspend any license granted by him pursuant to this section for violation of the provisions of any statute relative to controlled substances or of any regulation made hereunder. The licensing authority, upon application of any person whose license has been suspended or revoked, may reinstate such license upon a showing of good cause.

(c) The fee for licenses provided pursuant to this section shall be according to the following schedule: For any wholesaler, one hundred ninety dollars per annum for each location existing in this state and for each location existing outside of this state that distributes products into this state; for manufacturers employing not more than five licensed pharmacists or qualified chemists or both, two hundred eighty-five dollars per annum; for manufacturers employing six to ten licensed pharmacists or qualified chemists or both, three hundred seventy-five dollars per annum; for manufacturers employing more than ten licensed pharmacists or qualified chemists or both, nine hundred forty dollars per annum; for laboratories, eighty dollars per annum. A separate fee is required for each place of business or professional practice where the licensee uses, manufactures, stores, distributes, analyzes or dispenses drugs, medical devices or cosmetics.

(d) Controlled substances which are possessed, kept or stored at an address or location other than the address or location indicated on the registration required by chapter 420c or by federal laws and regulations shall be deemed to be possessed, kept or stored illegally and shall be subject to seizure and forfeited to the state. The following are subject to forfeitures: (1) All controlled substances which have been manufactured, distributed, dispensed or acquired in violation of this chapter; (2) all raw materials, products and equipment of any kind which are used, or intended for use, in manufacturing, compounding, processing, delivering, importing, or exporting any controlled substance in violation of this chapter; (3) all property which is used, or intended for use, as a container for property described in paragraph (1) or (2); (4) all conveyances, including aircraft, vehicles or vessels, which are used, or intended for use, to transport or in any manner to facilitate the transportation, for the purpose of sale or receipt of property described in paragraph (1) or (2), but (i) no conveyance used by any person as a common carrier is subject to forfeiture under this chapter unless it appears that the owner or other person in charge of the conveyance is a consenting party or privy to a violation of this chapter; (ii) no conveyance is subject to forfeiture under this chapter by reason of any act or omission established by the owner thereof to have been committed or omitted without his knowledge or consent.

(1967, P.A. 555, S. 9; 1969, P.A. 411; 753, S. 5, 6; 1972, P.A. 278, S. 4; P.A. 73-681, S. 4, 29; P.A. 76-355, S. 1, 2; P.A. 77-604, S. 15, 84; P.A. 79-631, S. 9, 111; P.A. 81-148, S. 2, 4; 81-440, S. 4, 7; P.A. 89-251, S. 156, 203; P.A. 94-36, S. 36, 42; P.A. 99-102, S. 33; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6, S. 146(c); P.A. 04-189, S. 1; P.A. 06-196, S. 215; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 09-3, S. 289; P.A. 13-196, S. 37; P.A. 16-39, S. 45.)

History: 1969 acts provided exemption from licensing provisions for manufacturers whose principal place of business is outside the state under stated conditions and added provisions re cannabis-type drugs in Subsec. (a) and added Subsec. (c) re fee schedule; 1972 act replaced “drugs” with “substances”, exempted podiatrists from provisions of section and clarified exemption for health practitioners by specifying it to be inapplicable with respect to narcotic drugs and Schedules I and II controlled substances rather than with respect to restricted drugs, deleted provision re consultation between consumer protection commissioner and public health council re licensing, and required registration with Justice Department, Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs rather than with secretary of Department of Health, Education and Welfare in out-of-state manufacturer's exemption; P.A. 73-681 gave exclusive licensing authority to consumer protection commissioner, deleting previous provisions under which health commissioner was responsible for licenses re narcotic or cannabis-type substances, imposed licensing fee for laboratories and required separate fee for each place of business or practice in Subsec. (c) and added Subsec. (d) re seizure and forfeiture; P.A. 76-355 replaced “Justice Department, Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs” with “federal drug enforcement agency or other federal agency” in Subsec. (a), set February expiration date for laboratory licenses in Subsec. (b) and increased fees for wholesalers from $50 to $75, for manufacturers from $75 to $112.50, from $100 to $150 or from $250 to $375, depending on number of pharmacists and or chemists employed, and for laboratories from $10 to $20 in Subsec. (c); P.A. 77-604 and P.A. 79-631 made technical corrections in Subsec. (d); P.A. 81-148 clarified exemption from licensing requirement to include “dispensing” of prescriptions and both “dispensing” and “administering” controlled substances in Subsec. (a); P.A. 81-440 amended Subsec. (a) to authorize the commissioner of consumer protection to license a physician who is licensed in this state to possess and supply marijuana for the treatment of glaucoma or the side effects of chemotherapy; Sec. 19-453 transferred to Sec. 21a-246 in 1983; P.A. 89-251 amended Subsec. (c) to increase the fee for a wholesaler from $75 to $150, for manufacturers employing not more than five pharmacists or chemists from $112.50 to $225; for manufacturers employing six to ten pharmacists or chemists from $150 to $300, for manufacturer's employing more than ten pharmacists or chemists from $300 to $750 and for laboratories from $20 to $40; P.A. 94-36 deleted the references to the “July first” and “February first” license expiration dates in Subsec. (b), effective January 1, 1995; P.A. 99-102 amended Subsec. (a) by deleting obsolete reference to osteopathy and making a technical change; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6 replaced Commissioner of Consumer Protection with Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Protection, effective July 1, 2004; P.A. 04-189 repealed Sec. 146 of June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6, thereby reversing the merger of the Departments of Agriculture and Consumer Protection, effective June 1, 2004; P.A. 06-196 made technical changes in Subsec. (a), effective June 7, 2006; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 09-3 amended Subsec. (c) to increase fees; P.A. 13-196 amended Subsec. (c) to add provision re $190 per annum fee for each location in state and for each location outside state that distributes products into the state, delete “controlled” re drugs and add reference to medical devices or cosmetics re separate fee, effective June 21, 2013; P.A. 16-39 amended Subsec. (a) by adding reference to advanced practice registered nurses in provision re exception for dispensing or administering controlled substances, adding reference to advanced practice registered nurse in provision re application pursuant to Ch. 370, adding Subdiv. (1) designator in provision re commissioner to license physician to possess and supply marijuana for treatment of glaucoma or side effects of chemotherapy and adding Subdiv. (2) re commissioner to license advanced practice registered nurse to possess and supply marijuana for treatment of side effects of chemotherapy, effective January 1, 2017.

See chapter 420c re controlled substance registration.

See Sec. 21a-10(b) re staggered schedule for license renewals.

See Sec. 21a-253 re possession of marijuana pursuant to physician's prescription.

Annotation to former section 19-453:

Cited. 188 C. 183.