2006 Louisiana Laws - RS 40:962.1.2 — Restriction on the sale of ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, or phenylpropanolamine or their salts, optical isomers, and salts of optical isomers

§962.1.2.  Restriction on the sale of ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, or phenylpropanolamine or their salts, optical isomers, and salts of optical isomers

A.  Except pharmacies licensed by the Louisiana Board of Pharmacy, no retail establishment or individual shall transfer, sell, deliver or provide more than three packages or nine grams of pseudoephedrine, ephedrine or phenylpropanolamine product in a single retail sales transaction to a consumer unless such transaction is in compliance with this Subsection.

(1)  This Section shall not apply to pediatric products primarily intended for administration, according to label instructions, to children under twelve years of age, in solid dosage form when individual dosage units do not exceed fifteen milligrams of ephedrine, pseudoephedrine or phenylpropanolamine; or

(2)  Except pharmacies licensed by the Louisiana Board of Pharmacy, no retail establishment shall keep or maintain more than three packages or nine grams of each stocked product of pseudoephedrine, ephedrine or phenylpropanolamine product on any shelf which is accessible to retrieval by a customer at any time nor shall such shelf be more than thirty feet from the direct line of sight of a cash register or counter staffed by one or more store employees at all times.

(3)  Except pharmacies licensed by the Louisiana Board of Pharmacy, the retail establishment shall comply with any one of the following:

(a)  Position the shelf which contains the pseudoephedrine, ephedrine or phenylpropanolamine in order that the shelf is under constant video surveillance with a video camera positioned so that persons examining or removing the packages are visible.  The video camera shall, at a minimum, record a one-second image every ten seconds.  The images shall be preserved for a minimum of fifteen days.  The retail establishment shall maintain a written or electronic record of the number of packages sold per week and shall preserve the record for fifteen days.  The written or electronic record shall be available to law enforcement authorities immediately upon request. The video images shall be available to law enforcement authorities who obtain a search warrant based upon probable cause.  The retail distributor shall post a sign in a prominent manner stating that the area is under constant video surveillance.

(b)  Require any person purchasing, receiving, or otherwise acquiring pseudoephidrine, ephedrine or phenylpropanolamine to produce a photo identification showing the date of birth of the purchaser and that the person sign a written log or receipt showing the date of the transaction, the name of the purchaser, and the amount of the compound, mixture or preparation sold.  The log shall be available to law enforcement authorities immediately upon request.

(4)  Any person owning or being employed by a retail establishment or pharmacy who violates this Section shall be subject to a fine of not more than five hundred dollars for the first offense and not more than one thousand dollars for each subsequent offense.

(5)  A retailer who is the owner or operator of a retailer, or a pharmacy, whose employee sells pseudoephedrine, ephedrine, or phenylpropanolamine in violation of this Section, shall not be liable if the retailer can document that his employee signed a written statement acknowledging that the employee was aware of the restrictions on sales provided in this Section, prior to the sale for which he was arrested.

B.(1)  No compound, mixture, or preparation containing any detectable quantity of ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, or phenylpropanolamine, its salts or optical isomers, or salts of optical isomers shall be dispensed, sold, or distributed in a pharmacy unless the shelf which contains the pseudoephedrine, ephedrine or phenylpropanolamine is no more than thirty feet from the direct line of sight of a cash register or counter staffed by one or more licensed pharmacists or licensed pharmacy technicians or an employee of the pharmacy.

(2)  No compound, mixture, or preparation containing any detectable quantity of ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, or phenylpropanolamine, its salts or optical isomers, or salts of optical isomers shall be dispensed, sold, or distributed to any person purchasing, receiving, or otherwise acquiring any compound, mixture, or preparation unless one of the following conditions is met:

(a)  The purchaser produces a photo identification showing the date of birth of the purchaser and signs a written or electronic log or receipt showing the date of the transaction, name of the purchaser, and the amount of the compound, mixture or preparation sold.

(b)  The pharmacy has a video camera positioned so that the shelf which contains the pseudoephedrine, ephedrine or phenylpropanolamine is under constant video surveillance from a video camera positioned so that persons examining or removing the packages are clearly visible.  The video camera shall, at a minimum, record a one-second image every ten seconds.  The images shall be preserved for a minimum of fifteen days.  The pharmacy shall maintain a written or electronic record of the number of packages sold per week and shall preserve the record for fifteen days.  The video images shall be available to law enforcement authorities who obtain a search warrant based upon probable cause.  The pharmacy shall post a sign in a prominent manner stating that the area is under constant video surveillance.

(3)  No pharmacy shall keep or maintain more than three packages or nine grams of each stocked product of pseudoephedrine, ephedrine or phenylpropanolamine on any shelf which is accessible to retrieval by a customer at any time nor shall such shelf be more than thirty feet from the direct line of sight of a cash register or counter staffed by one or more store employees at all times.

C.  No person shall purchase, receive, or otherwise acquire more than nine grams or three packages of any product, mixture, or preparation described in Subsection A of this Section within any thirty-day period.  The requirements of this Section shall not apply to any quantity of such product, mixture or preparation dispensed pursuant to a valid prescription from a licensed medical doctor.

D.  A law enforcement officer may, pursuant to R.S. 40:986(B), obtain an administrative search warrant to inspect the written logs or receipts maintained in compliance with Paragraph (A)(3) of this Section.

E.  This Section shall not apply to any compounds, mixtures, or preparations of pseudoephedrine which are in liquid, liquid capsule, or gel capsule form if pseudoephedrine is not the only active ingredient.

F.  The secretary of the Department of Health and Hospitals, by rule promulgated pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act, may exempt other products from this Section which the secretary finds are not used in the illegal manufacture of methamphetamine or other controlled dangerous substances.  A manufacturer of a drug product may apply for an exemption of the product as provided in this Section if the product is determined by the secretary to have been formulated in such a way as to effectively prevent the conversion of the active ingredient into methamphetamine.  The secretary shall not exempt any product from the provisions of this Section unless he has provided written notice to the deputy superintendent of the office of state police crime lab.

G.  A parish or municipal government authority may regulate the selling, delivering or providing of packages or grams of pseudoephedrine, ephedrine or phenylpropanolamine only in a manner that is not more or less restrictive than regulation by the state under this Section.

Acts 2005, No. 494, §3.