STAND. COM. REP. NO. 877

                                   Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                     , 1999

                                   RE:  S.B. No. 1160
                                        S.D. 2




Honorable Norman Mizuguchi
President of the Senate
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 1999
State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred S.B. No.
1160, S.D. 1, entitled: 

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to amend Hawaii's Uniform
Controlled Substance Act to conform to changes in federal and
state law.

     Your Committee finds that the amendments to the Uniform
Controlled Substance Act proposed by this measure will create
consistency between federal and state requirements, assist law
enforcement in the investigation of drug-related offenses, and
strengthen the enforcement of our drug laws.

     Some of the amendments to the Uniform Controlled Substance
Act proposed by this measure will:

     (1)  Add a new definition for the term "ephedrine";

     (2)  Update the record-keeping requirement for controlled
          substances from two years to five years due to changes
          made to chapter 328, Hawaii Revised Statutes;

     (3)  Standardize the paper size requirements for
          prescriptions;


 
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     (4)  Prevent the diversion of controlled substances by
          persons posing as interns, residents, or other
          authorized persons prescribing controlled substances
          using the hospital DEA number and internal code;

     (5)  Expand the list of chemicals subject to mandatory
          reporting requirements;

     (6)  Establish reporting requirements for suspicious
          purchases of exempt items and tableting or
          encapsulating machines;

     (7)  Removing the exemption for ephedrine products, but
          creating an exception for dietary supplements
          containing ephedrine alkaloids extracted from the plant
          Ephedra; 

     (8)  Establishing penalties for sellers of ephedrine
          products who make certain claims about the product's
          effects; and 

     (9)  Increasing the penalties for the sale or distribution
          of a regulated chemical without a permit or by a person
          convicted for the second time of a violation of section
          329-67, Hawaii Revised Statutes, and increasing the
          level of offense for other illegal acts.

     Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by the
Department of Public Safety, the Honolulu Police Department, the
Dietary Supplement Safety and Science Coalition, and Longs Drugs
Stores.  Testimony in opposition to this measure was submitted by
the Legislative Information Services of Hawaii on behalf of
Nonprescription Drug Manufacturers Association.

     Upon further consideration, your Committee has amended this
measure by:

     (1)  Deleting the provisions requiring record keeping and
          reporting of regulated chemical transactions and
          requiring the reporting of above threshold quantity,
          suspicious purchases of exempt items and tableting or
          encapsulating machines;

     (2)  Deleting the exceptions to the reporting requirements
          as noted above in (1); and

     (3)  Making technical, non-substantive changes for the
          purposes of clarity and style.


 
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     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your
Committee on Judiciary that is attached to this report, your
Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No.
1160, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass
Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1160, S.D.
2.

                                   Respectfully submitted on
                                   behalf of the members of the
                                   Committee on Judiciary,



                                   ______________________________
                                   AVERY B. CHUMBLEY, Co-Chair



                                   ______________________________
                                   MATTHEW M. MATSUNAGA, Co-Chair

 
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