Sale and storage of drugs containing ephedrine or
pseudoephedrine; application; convenience packages; age
requirements; identification; record keeping; suspicious orders
and unusual thefts
Sec. 14.7. (a) This section does not apply to the following:
(1) Ephedrine or pseudoephedrine dispensed pursuant to a
prescription.
(2) The sale of a drug containing ephedrine or pseudoephedrine
to a licensed health care provider, pharmacist, retail distributor,
wholesaler, manufacturer, or an agent of any of these persons
if the sale occurs in the regular course of lawful business
activities. However, a retail distributor, wholesaler, or
manufacturer is required to report a suspicious order to the state
police department in accordance with subsection (f).
(3) The sale of a drug containing ephedrine or pseudoephedrine
by a person who does not sell exclusively to walk-in customers
for the personal use of the walk-in customers. However, if the
person described in this subdivision is a retail distributor,
wholesaler, or manufacturer, the person is required to report a
suspicious order to the state police department in accordance
with subsection (f).
(b) The following definitions apply throughout this section:
(1) "Constant video monitoring" means the surveillance by an
automated camera that:
(A) records at least one (1) photograph or digital image
every ten (10) seconds;
(B) retains a photograph or digital image for at least
seventy-two (72) hours;
(C) has sufficient resolution and magnification to permit the
identification of a person in the area under surveillance; and
(D) stores a recorded photograph or digital image at a
location that is immediately accessible to a law enforcement
officer.
(2) "Convenience package" means a package that contains a
drug having as an active ingredient not more than one hundred
twenty (120) milligrams of ephedrine or pseudoephedrine, or
both.
(3) "Ephedrine" means pure or adulterated ephedrine.
(4) "Pseudoephedrine" means pure or adulterated
pseudoephedrine.
(5) "Suspicious order" means a sale or transfer of a drug
containing ephedrine or pseudoephedrine if the sale or transfer:
(A) is a sale or transfer that the retail distributor, wholesaler,
or manufacturer is required to report to the United States
Drug Enforcement Administration;
(B) appears suspicious to the retail distributor, wholesaler,
or manufacturer in light of the recommendations contained
in Appendix A of the report to the United States attorney
general by the suspicious orders task force under the federal
Comprehensive Methamphetamine Control Act of 1996; or
(C) is for cash or a money order in a total amount of at least
two hundred dollars ($200).
(6) "Unusual theft" means the theft or unexplained
disappearance from a particular retail store of drugs containing
ten (10) grams or more of ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, or both
in a twenty-four (24) hour period.
(c) This subsection does not apply to a convenience package. A
person may sell a drug that contains the active ingredient of
ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, or both only if the person complies with
the following conditions:
(1) The person does not sell the drug to a person less than
eighteen (18) years of age.
(2) The person does not sell drugs containing more than three
(3) grams of ephedrine or pseudoephedrine, or both in one (1)
transaction.
(3) The person requires:
(A) the purchaser to produce a state or federal identification
card;
(B) the purchaser to complete a paper or an electronic log in
a format approved by the state police department with the
purchaser's name, address, and driver's license or other
identification number; and
(C) the clerk who is conducting the transaction to initial or
electronically record the clerk's identification on the log.
Records from the completion of a log must be retained for at
least two (2) years, and may be inspected by a law enforcement
officer in accordance with state and federal law. A retailer who
in good faith releases information maintained under this
subsection is immune from civil liability unless the release
constitutes gross negligence or intentional, wanton, or willful
misconduct. This subdivision expires June 30, 2008.
(4) The person stores the drug:
(A) behind a counter in an area inaccessible to a customer or
in a locked display case that makes the drug unavailable to
a customer without the assistance of an employee; or
(B) directly in front of the pharmacy counter in the direct
line of sight of an employee at the pharmacy counter, in an
area under constant video monitoring, if the drug is sold in
a retail establishment that:
(i) is a pharmacy; or
(ii) contains a pharmacy that is open for business.
(d) A person may not purchase drugs containing more than three
(3) grams of ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, or both in one (1) week.
(e) This subsection only applies to convenience packages. A
person may not sell drugs containing more than one hundred twenty
(120) milligrams of ephedrine or pseudoephedrine, or both in any
one (1) transaction if the drugs are sold in convenience packages. A
person who sells convenience packages must secure the convenience
packages in at least one (1) of the following ways:
(1) The convenience package must be stored not more than
thirty (30) feet away from a checkout station or counter and
must be in the direct line of sight of an employee at the
checkout station or counter.
(2) The convenience package must be protected by a reliable
anti-theft device that uses package tags and detection alarms
designed to prevent theft.
(3) The convenience package must be stored in restricted access
shelving that permits a purchaser to remove not more than one
(1) package every fifteen (15) seconds.
(4) The convenience package must be stored in an area that is
under constant video monitoring, and a sign placed near the
convenience package must warn that the area is under constant
video monitoring.
(f) A retail distributor, wholesaler, or manufacturer shall report a
suspicious order to the state police department in writing.
(g) Not later than three (3) days after the discovery of an unusual
theft at a particular retail store, the retailer shall report the unusual
theft to the state police department in writing. If three (3) unusual
thefts occur in a thirty (30) day period at a particular retail store, the
retailer shall, for at least one hundred eighty (180) days after the date
of the last unusual theft, locate all drugs containing ephedrine or
pseudoephedrine at that particular retail store behind a counter in an
area inaccessible to a customer or in a locked display case that makes
the drug unavailable to customers without the assistance of an
employee.
(h) A unit (as defined in IC 36-1-2-23) may not adopt an
ordinance after February 1, 2005, that is more stringent than this
section.
(i) A person who knowingly or intentionally violates this section
commits a Class C misdemeanor. However, the offense is a Class A
misdemeanor if the person has a prior unrelated conviction under this
section.
(j) Before June 30, 2007, the state police department shall submit
a report to the legislative council detailing the effectiveness of this
section in reducing the illicit production of methamphetamine. The
report must describe the number of arrests or convictions that are
attributable to the identification and logging requirements contained
in this section, and must include recommendations for future action.
The report must be in an electronic format under IC 5-14-6.
As added by P.L.192-2005, SEC.9.
Last modified: May 24, 2006