Methamphetamine Abuse Prevention Act of 2004 - Amends the Controlled Substances Act to: (1) reduce the retail sales threshold for the sale of products containing pseudoephedrine or phenylpropanolamine products from nine grams to six grams; and (2) eliminate the "regulated transaction" exemption for any over-the-counter sale of such products (including blister packs) by retail distributors.
Prohibits any State, political subdivision, or State authorized entity from establishing any requirement for retail sales of any pseudoephedrine drug product that is different from the requirements that apply to such products under this Act. Makes this provision inapplicable to any requirement enacted prior to January 1, 2005, other than a requirement allowing any individual to purchase more than six grams of pseudoephedrine base in any single retail transaction. Allows the State to adopt penalties that are different from penalties that apply under this Act.
Authorizes exemptions from this prohibition upon a determination by the Attorney General that pseudoephedrine drug products obtained in the State are being used as a significant source of precursor chemicals for illegal manufacture of a controlled substance for distribution or sale, that the requirement is likely to substantially decrease such use, and that the requirement will not unduly burden interstate commerce. Sets forth provisions governing judicial review.
[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5347 Introduced in House (IH)]
108th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 5347
To eliminate the safe-harbor exception for certain packaged
pseudoephedrine products used in the manufacture of methamphetamine,
and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
October 8, 2004
Mr. Souder (for himself, Mr. Wamp, Mr. Calvert, and Mr. Ose) introduced
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and
Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a
period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the
committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To eliminate the safe-harbor exception for certain packaged
pseudoephedrine products used in the manufacture of methamphetamine,
and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Methamphetamine Abuse Prevention Act
of 2004''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that--
(1) methamphetamine is a dangerous drug distributed
throughout the United States;
(2) the manufacture, distribution, and use of
methamphetamine results in increased crime, damage to the
environment, hazardous waste that endangers the public,
expensive cleanup costs often borne by Federal, State, and
local government agencies, and broken families;
(3) Congress has acted many times to limit the availability
of chemicals and equipment used in the manufacturing of
methamphetamine;
(4) pseudoephedrine is one of the basic precursor chemicals
used in the manufacture of methamphetamine;
(5) the United States Drug Enforcement Administration has
indicated that methamphetamine manufacturers often obtain
pseudoephedrine from retail and wholesale distributors, in both
bottles and ``blister packs'', and that the use of
pseudoephedrine tablets in blister packs is pervasive in the
illicit production of methamphetamine in both small and large
clandestine methamphetamine laboratories;
(6) while current law establishes a retail sales limit of 9
grams for most pseudoephedrine products, including common cold
medicine, there is no such limit on the sale of blister-packed
pseudoephedrine products;
(7) the 9 gram limit on bottled pseudoephedrine allows an
individual to purchase approximately 366 thirty-milligram
tablets per transaction, which is significantly more than a
typical consumer would need for legitimate purposes;
(8) reducing the current 9 gram threshold to 6 grams would
allow consumers to continue purchasing sufficient medication
for legitimate purposes and would assist efforts to reduce
illegal use of the pseudoephedrine products;
(9) the United States Drug Enforcement Administration
recommended in March 2002 that retail distribution of
pseudoephedrine tablets in blister packages should not be
exempt from the general retail sales limit; and
(10) in recommending legislation to correct the current
disparity in the law between bottled and blister-packed
pseudoephedrine tablets, the United States Drug Enforcement
Administration stated that ``The removal of this difference
would significantly prevent illicit access to this
methamphetamine precursor and would be easier for both the
government and the industry to monitor and would increase
compliance by retailers''.
SEC. 3. REDUCTION OF RETAIL SALES THRESHOLD TO 6 GRAMS.
Section 102(39)(A)(iv)(II) of the Controlled Substances Act (21
U.S.C. 802(39)(A)(iv)(II)) is amended--
(1) by striking ``9 grams'' each place such term appears
and inserting ``6 grams''; and
(2) by striking ``and sold in package sizes of not more
than 3 grams of pseudoephedrine base or 3 grams of
phenylpropanolamine base; or'' and inserting the following:
``and sold in, with respect to nonliquids, package sizes of not
more than 3.0 grams of pseudoephedrine base or 3.0 grams of
phenylpropanolamine base, and packaged in blister packs, each
blister containing not more than 2 dosage units, or where the
use of blister packs is technically infeasible, packaged in
unit dose packets or pouches and, with respect to liquids, sold
in package sizes of not more than 3.0 grams of pseudoephedrine
base or 3.0 grams of phenylpropanolamine base; or''.
SEC. 4. ELIMINATION OF BLISTER PACK EXEMPTION.
(a) Regulated Transaction.--Section 102(39)(A)(iv)(I)(aa) of the
Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802(39)(A)(iv)(I)(aa)) is amended
by striking ``, except that'' and all that follows through ``1996)''.
(b) Definition.--Section 102 of the Controlled substances Act (21
U.S.C. 802) is amended--
(1) by striking paragraph (45); and
(2) by redesignating paragraph (46) as paragraph (45).
(c) Rule of Law.--To the extent that there exists a conflict
between the amendment made by subsection (a) and section 401(d) of the
Comprehensive Methamphetamine Control Act of 1996 (21 U.S.C. 802 note),
the amendment shall control.
SEC. 5. NATIONAL UNIFORMITY FOR RESTRICTIONS ON THE SALE OF
PSEUDOEPHEDRINE PRODUCTS.
Section 708 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 903) is
amended--
(1) by striking ``No'' and inserting the following:
``(a) In General.--Except as provided in subsection (b), no''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(b) Pseudoephedrine Drug Product.--
``(1) State and local requirements.--
``(A) In general.--No State or political
subdivision of a State or State authorized entity may
establish with respect to the retail sales of any
pseudoephedrine drug product any requirement or
restriction that is different from, or in addition to,
or that is otherwise not identical with, the
requirements and restrictions that apply to
pseudoephedrine drug products under this Act.
``(B) State penalties.--Nothing in subparagraph (A)
shall be construed as preventing a State or political
subdivision of a State from adopting penalties that are
different from, or in addition to, or that are
otherwise not identical with, the penalties that apply
under this Act.
``(C) Grandfather clause.--Subparagraph (A) shall
not apply to any requirement or restriction regarding
the retail sale of pseudoephedrine drug products
established by a State or political subdivision of a
State or State authorized entity enacted prior to
January 1, 2005, other than a requirement or
restriction allowing any individual to purchase more
than 6 grams of pseudoephedrine base in any single
retail transaction.
``(2) Exemptions.--
``(A) In general.--Upon application of a State or
political subdivision thereof, the Attorney General,
not later than 30 days after receiving the application,
may exempt from paragraph (1)(A), under such conditions
as the Attorney General may prescribe, a State or
political subdivision requirement upon a determination
by the Attorney General that--
``(i) pseudoephedrine drug products
obtained in that State or political subdivision
are being used as a significant source of
precursor chemicals for illegal manufacture of
a controlled substance for distribution or
sale;
``(ii) the requirement is likely to
substantially decrease the use of
pseudoephedrine drug products as a source of
precursor chemicals for illegal manufacture of
a controlled substance for distribution or
sale; and
``(iii) the requirement will not unduly
burden interstate commerce.
``(B) Judicial review.--
``(i) Review in court of appeals.--Within
10 days after a determination by the Attorney
General under subparagraph (A), the State or
political subdivision involved, or an
individual affected by the determination, may
file a petition for judicial review of such
determination in the United States Court of
Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit,
which shall have exclusive jurisdiction over
any such petitions.
``(ii) Determination by court.--
``(I) In general.--Within 20 days
after a petition under clause (i) is
filed with the court, the court shall
enter final judgement on the petition.
``(II) Service regarding
petition.--With respect to a petition
under clause (i), if the court
determines that proper service was not
made on the Attorney General within 5
days after the date on which the
petition was filed with the court, the
running of the 20-day period under
subclause (I) shall not begin before
the day on which proper service was
made on the Attorney General.
``(iii) Finality of determination.--Any
determination made by the court under this
subparagraph shall be final and conclusive and
shall not be reviewed by any other court.
``(C) Computation of days.--For purposes of this
paragraph, Saturday, Sunday, or a legal holiday in the
District of Columbia shall not be counted as the last
day of any period.
``(3) Definitions.--As used in this subsection, the term
`pseudoephedrine drug product' means a product containing
pseudoephedrine that may be marketed or distributed lawfully in
the United States as a drug under the Federal Food, Drug, and
Cosmetic Act.''.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security.
Llama 3.2 · runs locally in your browser
Ask anything about this bill. The AI reads the full text to answer.
Enter to send · Shift+Enter for new line