STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1012

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 257

       S.D. 1

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2007

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committee on Judiciary and Labor, to which was referred S.B. No. 257 entitled:

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

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to preclude controlled substances from being sold on the streets by preventing the improper prescribing and dispensing of pharmaceuticals in the State.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Public Safety, Longs Drugs, Board of Pharmacy and Kaiser Permanente.

     Your Committee finds that pharmaceutical controlled substances are being fraudulently prescribed by practitioners through the Internet, telephone, and mail without a proper medical reason or examination. 

     Your Committee intends to accomplish the purpose of this measure by:

     (1)  Enabling the Department of Public Safety to bring an administrative action against a controlled substance registrant for violations of Chapter 329, Hawaii Revised Statutes;

     (2)  Adding the definition of "bona fide practitioner-patient relationship" to establish minimum guidelines that must be met prior the administering, prescribing, or dispensing of controlled substances;

     (3)  Clarifying the requirements for oral prescriptions issued to a pharmacy and record keeping requirements for all controlled substances;

(4) Clarifying that it is a violation of state law to pre-sign blank prescriptions to facilitate the fraudulent obtaining of controlled substances;

(4)  Clarifying that it is a violation of state law to facilitate the issuance or distribution of a written or oral prescriptions when the practitioner is not physically in the State; and

     (5)  Enabling the Department of Public Safety to conduct administrative inspections of pharmacies and deleting the requirement for administrative inspection warrants.

     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. 257, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 257, S.D. 1.

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

____________________________

CLAYTON HEE, Chair