Bill 967

                    Current Status

Bill Number:               967
Ratification Number:       534
Act Number                 427
Introducing Body:          Senate
Subject:                   Counterfeit drugs

(A427, R534, S967)

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTIONS 44-53-110, AS AMENDED, AND 44-53-390, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES AND DANGEROUS DRUGS, SO AS TO DEFINE "IMITATION CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE" AND "NONCONTROLLED SUBSTANCE" AND TO MAKE IT UNLAWFUL TO DISTRIBUTE OR TO DELIVER SUCH SUBSTANCES AS BEING REPRESENTATIVE OF A CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

Definitions

Section 1. Section 44-53-110 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 361 of 1980, is further amended by adding in proper alphabetical order:

"Imitation controlled substance' means a noncontrolled substance which is represented to be a controlled substance and is packaged in a manner normally used for the distribution or delivery of an illegal controlled substance.

'Noncontrolled substance' means any substance of chemical or natural origin which is not included in the schedules of controlled substances set forth in this article or included in the federal schedules of controlled substances set forth in Title 21, Section 812 of the United States Code or in Title 21, Part 1308, of the Code of Federal Regulations."

Unlawful to distribute or deliver certain substances

Section 2. Section 44-53-390 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"Section 44-53-390. (a) It is unlawful for any person knowingly or intentionally:

(1) To distribute as a registrant a controlled substance classified in Schedules I or II, except pursuant to an order form as required by Section 44-53-350;

(2) To use in the course of the manufacture or distribution of a controlled substance a registration number which is fictitious, revoked, suspended, or issued to another person;

(3) To acquire or obtain possession of a controlled substance by misrepresentation, fraud, forgery, deception, or subterfuge;

(4) To furnish false or fraudulent material information in, or omit any material information from, any application, report, or other document required to be kept or filed under this article, or any record required to be kept by this article;

(5) To make, distribute, or possess any punch, die, plate, stone, or other thing designed to print, imprint, or reproduce the trademark, trade name, or other identifying mark, imprint, or device of another or any likeness of any of the foregoing upon any drug or container or labeling thereof so as to render the drug a counterfeit substance;

(6) To distribute or deliver a noncontrolled substance or an imitation controlled substance:

(A) With the expressed or implied representation that the substance is a narcotic or nonnarcotic controlled substance, or with the expressed or implied representation that the substance is of such nature or appearance that the recipient of the distribution or delivery will be able to dispose of such substance as a controlled substance;

(B) When the physical appearance of the finished product is substantially similar to a specific controlled substance, or if in a tablet or capsule dosage form as a finished product it is similar in color, shape, and size to any controlled substances' dosage form, or its finished dosage form has similar, but not necessarily identical, markings on each dosage unit as any controlled substances' dosage form, or if its finished dosage form container bears similar, but not necessarily identical, markings or printed material as any controlled substance which is commercially manufactured and commercially packaged by a manufacturer or repackager registered under the provisions of Title 21, Section 823 of the United States Code.

In any prosecution for unlawful delivery of a noncontrolled substance, it is no defense that the accused believed the noncontrolled substance to actually be a controlled substance.

(b) Any person who violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be imprisoned for not more than five years, or fined not more than ten thousand dollars, or both, except that if such person is a corporation it shall be subject to a civil penalty of not more than one hundred thousand dollars.

(c) The provisions of item (6) of subsection (a) of this section shall not apply to any transaction in the ordinary course of professional practice of a practitioner registered to dispense controlled substances under this article, nor shall they apply to a pharmacy acting in the normal course of business, or pursuant to the lawful order of a placebo prescription."

Time effective

Section 3. This act shall take effect upon the approval by the Governor.