STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2669

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 2373

       S.D. 1

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2008

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committee on Judiciary and Labor, to which was referred S.B. No. 2373, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO PSEUDOEPHEDRINE SALES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to require pharmacies and retailers to record in an electronic log certain information of the sales transaction and purchaser of controlled substances.

     Testimony in support of this measure was received from the Department of Public Safety and one individual.  The American Civil Liberties Union of Hawai‘i and one individual testified in opposition.  The Hawaii Food Industry Association submitted comments.

     This measure requires the recordation, in an electronic log on software provided by the Department of Public Safety, Narcotics Enforcement Division (Division), of information including the date of birth of the purchaser, type of identification provided, agency issuing the identification, any unique number associated with the identification, as well as the name of the substance.  The electronic log in Excel worksheet format is to be mailed to the Division once a month.  The electronic log must be capable of checking compliance against state and federal laws and of interfacing with other states to ensure compliance, and be subject to random and warrantless inspection by state or county law enforcement officers.

     The pharmacy or retailer is to retain the information for a period of two years.

     With the decrease in the quality of methamphetamine and the increase in its street price, it is highly likely that criminals will revert back to manufacturing their own high quality methamphetamine using pseudoephedrine products obtained from retail distributors.  A study conducted in 2004 indicated that there were 1,883 retail stores in the State that were able to sell pseudoephedrine products, and most of these stores were not pharmacies and were unable to verify prior pseudoephedrine sales with their other retail counterparts.  Thus, an individual would have the ability to visit multiple retail chain stores and obtain 3.6 grams of pseudoephedrine per visit without the retailer being able to verify or track the individual's previous purchases that day.

     Your Committee finds that this measure is necessary to facilitate law enforcement and prosecution of illegal pseudoephedrine sales in the interests of protecting the public health and safety.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary and Labor that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2373, S.D. 1, and recommends that it pass Third Reading.

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

____________________________

BRIAN T. TANIGUCHI, Chair