H. B. 4525
(By Delegates Spencer, Caputo, Longstreth,
Trump, Hatfield and Palumbo)
[Introduced February 13, 2006; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary then Finance.]
A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new article, designated §60A-10-1, §60A-10-2,
§60A-10-3 and §60A-10-4, all relating to creation of the West
Virginia Meth Free Act; setting forth findings and a purpose;
providing a short title; regulating the sale of precursor
products to the manufacture of methamphetamine; providing a
criminal penalty for persons who intentionally violate a
provision of section two of the article;
requiring the State
Police to maintain a registry of names of those convicted of
crimes related to methamphetamine production or distribution;
and, requiring the circuit clerks to provide abstracts of
judgment to the State Police that reflect criminal convictions
of persons relative to methamphetamine production or
distribution.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended
by adding thereto a new article, designated §60A-10-1, §60A-10-2,
§60A-10-3 and §60A-10-4
, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 9. WEST VIRGINIA METH FREE ACT.
§60A-10-1. Findings and purpose.
The Legislature finds as follows:
(a) The clandestine manufacture of the illegal drug
methamphetamine is a clear and present danger to the health and
well-being of the citizens of this state.
(b) Methamphetamine is routinely manufactured in clandestine
laboratories that are found across the entirety of this state,
pervasively invading the entirety of the socio-economic strata of
the citizenry of this state.
(c) These clandestine laboratories pose a clear and present
danger to the health and well-being of many of our citizens. The
operators of these laboratories are often armed while being
involved in the corrupt practice of distributing methamphetamine.
Further, the chemicals used in the production of methamphetamine
when combined in the manufacturing process are extremely volatile
and present the lethal danger of explosion and fire hazard.
Frequently, toddler and infant children are on the premises of
these clandestine methamphetamine laboratories and are therefore
exposed to the gravest of danger.
(d) Methamphetamine laboratories pose a potentially lethal
environmental hazard due to the unregulated and illegal use of
harmful chemicals involved in the production of methamphetamine;
and
(e) The Legislature desires to coordinate efforts with law
enforcement, the health care industry, community agencies and other interested stakeholders to develop a comprehensive strategy
including treatment and public awareness for addressing
methamphetamine abuse.
§60A-10-2. Short title.
This article shall be known and cited as the "Meth-Free Act of
2006".
§60A-10-3. Access to precursor substances; penalty for violators.
(a) Except as provided in this section, any product that
contains any immediate methamphetamine precursor may be dispensed
only by a licensed pharmacy.
(b) A product or category of products that contain any
immediate methamphetamine precursor shall be exempt from the
requirements of this section if the ingredients are not in a form
that can be used in the manufacture of methamphetamine. The Bureau
for Public Health, in consultation with the State Police shall
determine whether a product or category of products that contain
any immediate methamphetamine precursor is not in a form that can
be used in the manufacture of methamphetamine. In making the
determination, the bureau shall solicit the written opinion of the
West Virginia Board of Pharmacy and work with the Board of Pharmacy
to develop procedures that consider, among other factors:
(1) Ease with which the product can be converted to
methamphetamine, including the presence or absence of a molecular
lock completely preventing a product's use in methamphetamine
manufacture;
(2) Ease with which pseudoephedrine can be extracted from a product and whether it forms a salt, emulsion, or other form;
(3) Any other pertinent data that can be used to determine the
risk of a product being a viable component in the manufacture of
methamphetamine.
(c) The Bureau of Public Health shall maintain a public list
of exempted products. Any person may request that a product be
included on the exemption list. The list must include products in
the form of gel capsules and liquid preparations that contain any
immediate methamphetamine precursor. The term "gel capsule" means
any soft gelatin liquid-filled capsule that contains a liquid
suspension which in the case of pseudoephedrine, is suspended in a
matrix of glycerin, polyethelyne glycol, and propylene glycol,
along with other liquid substances.
(d) A pharmacy may not sell to any one person at one time more
than three individual packages of any nonexempt product containing
any immediate methamphetamine precursor, nor may it sell to any one
person any combination of products containing more than nine grams
of ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, or their salts, isomers, or salts of
isomers, during the same thirty-day period. The nine gram limit
applies to the total amount of base ephedrine and pseudoephedrine
contained in the products, and not the overall weight of the
products. The prohibition contained in this section does not apply
to any person who obtains the product pursuant to a valid
prescription.
(e) Any sale of a product containing any immediate
methamphetamine precursor by a pharmacy requires the person purchasing the product to produce for inspection a valid
government-issued identification. The pharmacy shall maintain an
electronic record of the sale. The record shall include the name
of the purchaser, the name and quantity of the product purchased,
the date of purchase, the purchaser identification type and number
and the identity of the dispensing pharmacist.
(f) Nonexempt products containing an immediate methamphetamine
precursor shall be maintained behind the counter of the pharmacy or
in a locked case within view of and within twenty-five feet of the
counter.
(g) Any person who intentionally violates any provision of
this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction
thereof, shall be fined not more than five hundred dollars.
§60A-10-4. State Police to maintain registry of names of persons
convicted of methamphetamine manufacture.
(a) The Criminal Identification Division of the State Police
shall maintain a registry containing the names of persons convicted
under the provisions of section four hundred eleven, article four,
chapter sixty-a of this code and under the provisions of article
ten, chapter sixty-a of this code. The registry shall be
maintained by the Criminal Identification Division and made
available for public inquiry on the Internet. The registry shall
consist of the person's name, date of birth, the offenses for which
he or she was convicted requiring their inclusion on the registry
and any other identifying information considered necessary to
properly identify the person: Provided, That, in no event, may the information include a person's social security number.
(b) The circuit clerks throughout the state shall forward
certified copies of abstracts of judgment containing any criminal
convictions had under the provisions of section four hundred
eleven, article four, chapter sixty-a of this code or under article
ten, chapter sixty-a of this code to the Criminal Identification
Division of the State Police within forty-five days of the order of
conviction.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to create the West Virginia
Meth Free Act. The bill sets forth findings and a purpose while
providing a short title. It includes provisions regulating the
sale of precursor products to the manufacture of methamphetamine by
pharmacies which, in part include keeping electronic records of all
purchases of precursor products. The bill provides a criminal
penalty for persons who intentionally violate any provisions
concerning the regulation of sales of precursor products by
pharmacies.
Finally, it requires the State Police to maintain a
registry of names of those convicted of crimes related to
methamphetamine production or distribution while requiring the
circuit clerks to provide abstracts of judgment to the State Police
that reflect criminal convictions of persons for methamphetamine
production or distribution.
This article is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.