SCS/SBs 314 & 340 - This act establishes the Narcotics Control Act. The Department of Health and Senior Services is required to establish and maintain a program to monitor the prescribing and dispensing of all Schedule II, III, and IV controlled substances by all licensed professionals who prescribe or dispense these substances in Missouri. The provisions of this act shall be subject to appropriations and also may be funded with federal or private moneys. A dispenser shall electronically submit to the Department specified information for each prescribed Schedule II, III, and IV controlled substance dispensed. The Department may issue a waiver to a dispenser who is unable to submit the required information electronically. If a waiver is obtained, a dispenser can submit the required information in paper format or by other approved means.
All dispensation information shall be kept confidential with specified exceptions. This act authorizes the release of non-personal, general information for statistical, educational, and research purposes. The Department shall review the dispensation information and, if there is reasonable cause to believe a violation of law or breach of professional standards may have occurred, the Department shall notify the appropriate law enforcement or professional regulatory entity and provide the dispensation information required for an investigation. No dispensation information submitted to the Department shall be used by any local, state, or federal authority to prevent an individual from owning or obtaining a firearm.
Dispensers who knowingly fail to submit the required information or who knowingly submit incorrect dispensation information shall be subject to a penalty of $1,000 per violation. Any persons who are authorized to have prescription or dispensation information and who knowingly disclose such information or who knowingly use it in a manner and for a purpose in violation of this act shall be guilty of a Class E felony.
The provisions of this act shall automatically sunset August 28, 2023, unless reauthorized.
This act is substantially similar to SB 231 (2017) and similar to CCS/SS/HCS/HBs 90 & 68 (2017), HB 1892 (2016), SB 768 (2016), HCS/SS/SCS/SBs 63 & 111 (2015), HCS/HB 130 (2015), and HCS/HB 816 (2015).
SARAH HASKINS