Missouri Senate

Senate Committee Substitute

This act adds ephedrine to the list of substances included in Schedule IV for controlled substances. It provides that ephedrine, its salts, optical isomers and salts of optical isomers are included on the schedule when the substance is the only active medicinal ingredient.

This act also makes changes to the controlled substances in Schedule V. Substances, including any compound, mixture, or preparation containing any detectable quantity of pseudoephedrine or ephedrine, its salts or optical isomers, or salts of optical isomers are included on the schedule. However, substances in liquid or liquid-filled gel capsule form are not included.

This act allows only a licensed pharmacist or registered technician to dispense, sell, or distribute products containing pseudoephedrine or ephedrine to a person without a prescription. These products must be offered for sale only from behind a checkout counter where the public is not permitted. In addition, a person buying these products must be at least 18 years old.

According to this act, a pharmacist or technician must require a person purchasing, receiving, or acquiring such products, who is not known to him, to furnish a photo ID showing his or her date of birth.

Within 90 days of the enactment of this act, pharmacists and technicians must implement and maintain a written or electronic log of each transaction. The log must contain the name and address of the purchaser, amount of the product purchased, the date of the purchase, and the name or initials of the pharmacist or technician.

Within 30 days of enactment, every establishment dispensing or offering pseudoephedrine and ephedrine products for sale must ensure that all products are behind a checkout counter. In addition, all people in possession of such products, who do not have a controlled substance registration, must return the products to a manufacturer or distributor, or transfer them to an authorized controlled substance registrant. People possessing the liquid and liquid-filled gel capsule products, which are not included on the schedule, are excluded.

No one can buy more of these products than allowed by Chapter 195, RSMo.

The Department of Health and Senior Services may exempt products which it finds are not used in illegal manufacture of methamphetamine or other dangerous substances. A manufacturer can apply for removal from the schedule and the department may grant such removal if the product is formulated in such a way so to effectively prevent the conversion of the active ingredient into methamphetamine.

Any person who violates these provisions is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.

This act requires that products containing pseudoephedrine be offered for sale only from behind a checkout counter where the public is not permitted and be sold only by a pharmacist or registered technician except those in liquid or liquid gel cap form.

According to this act, no person can sell or dispense more than the specified amount to any individual within 30 days and no purchaser can purchase more than the amount specified within 30 days. This specified amount does not apply to any quantity dispensed under a valid prescription. The specified amount includes:

- Any number of packages that contain no more than 9 grams of any drug containing a sole active ingredient of ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, or phenylpropanolamine.

- Any number of packages of said combination drug that contain no more than 9 grams of such substances.

- Any number of package of any combination drug containing ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, phenylpropanolamine, or any number of packages of said combination drug that contain no more than 9 grams of such substances.

People selling or dispensing substances with pseudoephedrine or ephedrine must maintain logs, documents, and records. This does not include those selling only compounds, mixtures, or preparations in liquid or liquid-filled gel capsule form. All of these logs, documents, and records shall be open for inspection and copying by law enforcement officers.

This act has an emergency clause.

SUSAN HENDERSON