MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2009 Regular Session
To: Drug Policy
By: Senator(s) Albritton
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 73-21-73, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REVISE DEFINITIONS UNDER THE MISSISSIPPI PHARMACY PRACTICE ACT; TO AMEND SECTION 73-21-106, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CLARIFY REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS FOR NONRESIDENT PHARMACIES, ESPECIALLY AS REGISTRATION APPLIES TO PHARMACIES ACCEPTING PRESCRIPTIONS OR OTHER ORDERS THROUGH THE INTERNET; TO AMEND SECTION 41-29-111, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REVISE THE POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE MISSISSIPPI BOARD OF PHARMACY; TO AMEND SECTION 41-29-125, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REVISED THE PROMULGATION OF RULES AND REGULATIONS RELATIVE TO REGISTRATION AND CONTROL OF THE MANUFACTURE, DISTRIBUTION AND DISPENSING OF CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES; TO AMEND SECTION 41-29-127, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO MAKE TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS; TO AMEND SECTION 41-29-129, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REVISE THE REVOCATION OR SUSPENSION OF REGISTRATION PURSUANT TO THE TERMS OF THIS ACT; TO AMEND SECTION 41-29-131, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO MAKE TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS; TO AMEND SECTION 41-29-133, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO GRANT THE BUREAU OF NARCOTICS ADDITIONAL AUTHORITY TO OBTAIN RECORDS UNDER THE CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES ACT; TO AMEND SECTION 41-29-137, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CLARIFY THE REQUIREMENTS FOR A PRESCRIPTION FOR A CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE TO BE VALID AND TO CONFORM TO THE FEDERAL RYAN HAIGHT ACT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 73-21-73, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
73-21-73. As used in this chapter, unless the context requires otherwise:
(a) "Administer" means the direct application of a prescription drug pursuant to a lawful order of a practitioner to the body of a patient by injection, inhalation, ingestion or any other means.
(b) "Board of Pharmacy," "Pharmacy Board," "MSBP" or "board" means the State Board of Pharmacy.
(c) "Compounding" means (i) the production, preparation, propagation, conversion or processing of a sterile or nonsterile drug or device either directly or indirectly by extraction from substances of natural origin or independently by means of chemical or biological synthesis or from bulk chemicals or the preparation, mixing, measuring, assembling, packaging or labeling of a drug or device as a result of a practitioner's prescription drug order or initiative based on the practitioner/patient/pharmacist relationship in the course of professional practice, or (ii) for the purpose of, as an incident to, research, teaching or chemical analysis and not for sale or dispensing. Compounding also includes the preparation of drugs or devices in anticipation of prescription drug orders based on routine regularly observed prescribing patterns.
(d) "Continuing education unit" means ten (10) clock hours of study or other such activity as may be approved by the board, including, but not limited to, all programs which have been approved by the American Council on Pharmaceutical Education.
(e) "Deliver" or "delivery" means the actual, constructive or attempted transfer in any manner of a drug or device from one person to another, whether or not for a consideration, including, but not limited to, delivery by mailing or shipping.
(f) "Device" means an instrument, apparatus, implement, machine, contrivance, implant, in vitro reagent or other similar or related article, including any component part or accessory which is required under federal or state law to be prescribed by a practitioner and dispensed by a pharmacist.
(g) "Dispense" or "dispensing" means the interpretation of a valid prescription * * * of a practitioner by a pharmacist and the subsequent preparation of the drug or device for administration to or use by a patient or other individual entitled to receive the drug.
(h) "Distribute" means the delivery of a drug or device other than by administering or dispensing to persons other than the ultimate consumer.
(i) "Drug" means:
(i) Articles recognized as drugs in the official United States Pharmacopeia, official National Formulary, official Homeopathic Pharmacopeia, other drug compendium or any supplement to any of them;
(ii) Articles intended for use in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment or prevention of disease in man or other animals;
(iii) Articles other than food intended to affect the structure or any function of the body of man or other animals; and
(iv) Articles intended for use as a component of any articles specified in subparagraph (i), (ii) or (iii) of this paragraph.
(j) "Drugroom" means a business, which does not require the services of a pharmacist, where prescription drugs or prescription devices are bought, sold, maintained or provided to consumers.
(k) "Extern" means a student in the professional program of a school of pharmacy accredited by the American Council on Pharmaceutical Education who is making normal progress toward completion of a professional degree in pharmacy.
(l) "Foreign pharmacy graduate" means a person whose undergraduate pharmacy degree was conferred by a recognized school of pharmacy outside of the United States, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Recognized schools of pharmacy are those colleges and universities listed in the World Health Organization's World Directory of Schools of Pharmacy, or otherwise approved by the Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Examination Committee (FPGEC) certification program as established by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy.
(m) "Generic equivalent drug product" means a drug product which (i) contains the identical active chemical ingredient of the same strength, quantity and dosage form; (ii) is of the same generic drug name as determined by the United States Adoptive Names and accepted by the United States Food and Drug Administration; and (iii) conforms to such rules and regulations as may be adopted by the board for the protection of the public to assure that such drug product is therapeutically equivalent.
(n) "Internet" means collectively the myriad of computer and telecommunications facilities, including equipment and operating software, which comprise the interconnected worldwide network of networks that employ the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol, or any predecessor or successor protocol to such protocol, to communicate information of all kinds by wire or radio.
(o) "Interested directly" means being employed by, having full or partial ownership of, or control of, any facility permitted or licensed by the Mississippi State Board of Pharmacy.
(p) "Interested indirectly" means having a spouse who is employed by any facility permitted or licensed by the Mississippi State Board of Pharmacy.
(q) "Intern" means a person who has graduated from a school of pharmacy but has not yet become licensed as a pharmacist.
(r) "Manufacturer" means a person, business or other entity engaged in the production, preparation, propagation, conversion or processing of a prescription drug or device, if such actions are associated with promotion and marketing of such drugs or devices.
(s) "Manufacturer's distributor" means any person or business who is not an employee of a manufacturer, but who distributes sample drugs or devices, as defined under subsection (i) of this section, under contract or business arrangement for a manufacturer to practitioners.
(t) "Manufacturing" of prescription products means the production, preparation, propagation, conversion or processing of a drug or device, either directly or indirectly, by extraction from substances from natural origin or independently by means of chemical or biological synthesis, or from bulk chemicals and includes any packaging or repackaging of the substance(s) or labeling or relabeling of its container, if such actions are associated with promotion and marketing of such drug or devices.
(u) "Misappropriation of a prescription drug" means to illegally or unlawfully convert a drug, as defined in subsection (i) of this section, to one's own use or to the use of another.
(v) "Nonprescription drugs" means nonnarcotic medicines or drugs that may be sold without a prescription and are prepackaged and labeled for use by the consumer in accordance with the requirements of the statutes and regulations of this state and the federal government.
(w) "Person" means an individual, corporation, partnership, association or any other legal entity.
(x) "Pharmacist" means an individual health care provider licensed by this state to engage in the practice of pharmacy. This recognizes a pharmacist as a learned professional who is authorized to provide patient services.
(y) "Pharmacy" means any location for which a pharmacy permit is required and in which prescription drugs are maintained, compounded and dispensed for patients by a pharmacist. This definition includes any location where pharmacy-related services are provided by a pharmacist.
(z) "Prepackaging" means the act of placing small precounted quantities of drug products in containers suitable for dispensing or administering in anticipation of prescriptions or orders.
(aa) Unlawful or unauthorized "possession" means physical holding or control by a pharmacist of a controlled substance outside the usual and lawful course of employment.
(bb) "Practice of pharmacy" means a health care service that includes, but is not limited to, the compounding, dispensing, and labeling of drugs or devices; interpreting and evaluating prescriptions; administering and distributing drugs and devices; the compounding, dispensing and labeling of drugs and devices; maintaining prescription drug records; advising and consulting concerning therapeutic values, content, hazards and uses of drugs and devices; initiating or modifying of drug therapy in accordance with written guidelines or protocols previously established and approved by the board; selecting drugs; participating in drug utilization reviews; storing prescription drugs and devices; ordering lab work in accordance with written guidelines or protocols as defined by paragraph (kk) of this section; providing pharmacotherapeutic consultations; supervising supportive personnel and such other acts, services, operations or transactions necessary or incidental to the conduct of the foregoing.
(cc) "Practitioner" means a physician, dentist, veterinarian, or other health care provider authorized by law to diagnose and prescribe drugs.
(dd) "Prescription" means a written, verbal or electronically transmitted order issued by a practitioner for a drug or device to be dispensed for a patient by a pharmacist.
(ee) "Prescription drug" or "legend drug" means a drug which is required under federal law to be labeled with either of the following statements prior to being dispensed or delivered:
(i) "Caution: Federal law prohibits dispensing without prescription," or
(ii) "Caution: Federal law restricts this drug to use by or on the order of a licensed veterinarian"; or a drug which is required by any applicable federal or state law or regulation to be dispensed on prescription only or is restricted to use by practitioners only.
(ff) "Product selection" means the dispensing of a generic equivalent drug product in lieu of the drug product ordered by the prescriber.
(gg) "Provider" or "primary health care provider" includes a pharmacist who provides health care services within his or her scope of practice pursuant to state law and regulation.
(hh) "Registrant" means a pharmacy or other entity which is registered with the Mississippi State Board of Pharmacy to buy, sell or maintain controlled substances.
(ii) "Repackager" means a person registered by the Federal Food and Drug Administration as a repackager who removes a prescription drug product from its marketed container and places it into another, usually of smaller size, to be distributed to persons other than the consumer.
(jj) "Reverse distributor" means a business operator that is responsible for the receipt and appropriate return or disposal of unwanted, unneeded or outdated stocks of controlled or uncontrolled drugs from a pharmacy.
(kk) "Supportive personnel" or "pharmacist technician" means those individuals utilized in pharmacies whose responsibilities are to provide nonjudgmental technical services concerned with the preparation and distribution of drugs under the direct supervision and responsibility of a pharmacist.
(ll) "Written guideline or protocol" means an agreement in which any practitioner authorized to prescribe drugs delegates to a pharmacist authority to conduct specific prescribing functions in an institutional setting, or with individual patients, provided that a specific protocol agreement is signed on each patient and is filed as required by law or by rule or regulation of the board.
(mm) "Wholesaler" means a person who buys or otherwise acquires prescription drugs or prescription devices for resale or distribution, or for repackaging for resale or distribution, to persons other than consumers.
SECTION 2. Section 73-21-106, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
73-21-106. (1) Any pharmacy located outside this state that ships, mails or delivers, in any manner, controlled substances or prescription or legend drugs or devices into this state shall be considered a nonresident pharmacy, shall be registered with the board, and shall * * *:
(a) Disclose to the board the location, names, and titles of all principal corporate officers and all pharmacists-in-charge. A report containing this information shall be made on an annual basis and within thirty (30) days after any change of office, corporate officer or pharmacist-in-charge;
(b) Comply with all lawful directions and requests for information from the regulatory or licensing agency of the state in which it is licensed as well as with all requests for information made by the board pursuant to this section. The nonresident pharmacy shall maintain at all times a valid unexpired license, permit or registration to conduct the pharmacy in compliance with the laws of the state in which it is a resident. As a prerequisite to registering with the board, the nonresident pharmacy shall submit a copy of the most recent inspection report resulting from an inspection conducted by the regulatory or licensing agency of the state in which it is located; and
(c) * * * Maintains its records of controlled substances and prescription or legend drugs or devices dispensed to patients in this state so that the records are readily retrievable from the records of other drugs dispensed.
(2) Any pharmacy subject to this section shall provide during its regular hours of operation, but not less than six (6) days per week and for a minimum of forty (40) hours per week, a toll-free telephone service to facilitate communication between patients in this state and a pharmacist at the pharmacy who has access to the patient's records. This toll-free number shall be disclosed on a label affixed to each container of drugs dispensed to patients in this state.
(3) The registration fee for nonresident pharmacies shall be the same as the fee as set by subsection (4) of Section 73-21-105.
(4) The registration requirements of this section shall apply * * * to any nonresident pharmacy that dispenses, distributes, ships, mails or delivers controlled substances or prescription or legend drugs and devices into this state directly to a consumer.
(5) The board may deny, revoke or suspend a nonresident pharmacy registration only for:
(a) Failure to comply with any requirement of this section; * * *
(b) Conduct that causes serious bodily or serious psychological injury to a resident of this state if the board has referred the matter to the regulatory or licensing agency in the state in which the pharmacy is located and the regulatory or licensing agency fails to initiate an investigation within forty-five (45) days of the referral; or
(c) Violation of the Uniform Controlled Substances Law.
(6) It is unlawful for any nonresident pharmacy that is not registered pursuant to this section to advertise its services in this state or to accept orders or prescriptions by means of the mail or the Internet for delivery into this state, or for any person who is a resident of this state to advertise the pharmacy services of a nonresident pharmacy that has not registered with the board, with the knowledge that the advertisement will or is likely to induce members of the public in this state to use the pharmacy to fill prescriptions.
(7) When requested to do so by the board or the Bureau of Narcotics, each nonresident pharmacy shall supply any inspection reports, controlled substances dispensing records, warning notices, notice of deficiency reports or any other related reports from the state in which it is located concerning the operation of a nonresident pharmacy for review of compliance with state and federal drug laws.
SECTION 3. Section 41-29-111, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
41-29-111. (1) The Commissioner of Public Safety shall administer this article and shall work in conjunction and cooperation with the State Board of Pharmacy, county and municipal law enforcement agencies, the district and county attorneys, the Office of the Attorney General and the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics. The State Board of Health shall work with the bureau in an advisory capacity and shall be responsible for recommending to the Legislature the appropriate schedule for all substances to be scheduled or rescheduled in Sections 41-29-113 through 41-29-121. In making a recommendation regarding a substance, the State Board of Health shall consider the following:
(a) (i) The actual or relative potential for abuse;
(ii) The scientific evidence of its pharmacological effect, if known;
(iii) The state of current scientific knowledge regarding the substance;
(iv) The history and current pattern of abuse;
(v) The scope, duration and significance of abuse;
(vi) The risk to the public health;
(vii) The potential of the substance to produce psychic or physiological dependence liability; and
(viii) Whether the substance is an immediate precursor of a substance already controlled under this article.
(b) After considering the factors enumerated in paragraph (a), the State Board of Health shall make findings with respect thereto and issue a recommendation to control the substance if it finds the substance has a potential for abuse.
(c) If the State Board of Health designates a substance as an immediate precursor, substances that are precursors of the controlled precursor shall not be recommended for control solely because they are precursors of the controlled precursor.
(d) If any substance is designated, rescheduled, or deleted as a controlled substance under federal law and notice thereof is given to the State Board of Health, it shall recommend the control of the substance under this article at the next session of the Legislature.
(e) (i) Authority to control under this article does not extend to distilled spirits, wine, malt beverages, or tobacco as those terms are defined or used in the Local Option Alcoholic Beverage Control Law, being Sections 67-1-1 through 67-1-91, and the Tobacco Tax Law of 1934, being Sections 27-69-1 through 27-69-77. It is the intent of the Legislature of the State of Mississippi that the bureau shall concentrate its efforts and resources on the enforcement of the Uniform Controlled Substances Law with respect to illicit narcotic and drug traffic in the state.
(ii) The controlled substances listed in the schedules in Sections 41-29-113 through 41-29-121 are included by whatever official, common, usual, chemical or trade name designated.
(f) The State Board of Health shall recommend the exclusion of any nonnarcotic substance from a schedule if such substance may, under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act and the laws of this state, be lawfully sold over the counter without a prescription.
SECTION 4. Section 41-29-125, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
41-29-125. The State Board of Pharmacy may promulgate rules and regulations relating to the registration and control of the manufacture, distribution and dispensing of controlled substances within this state.
(a) Every person who manufactures, distributes or dispenses any controlled substance within this state, or who proposes to engage in the manufacture, distribution or dispensing of any controlled substance within this state, must obtain a registration issued by the State Board of Pharmacy, the State Board of Medical Licensure, the State Board of Dental Examiners or the Mississippi Board of Nursing, as appropriate, in accordance with its rules and the law of this state. Such registration shall be obtained annually or biennially, as specified by the issuing board, and a reasonable fee may be charged by the issuing board for such registration.
(b) Persons registered by the State Board of Pharmacy, with the consent of the United States Drug Enforcement Administration and the State Board of Medical Licensure, the State Board of Dental Examiners or the Mississippi Board of Nursing, to manufacture, distribute, dispense or conduct research with controlled substances may possess, manufacture, distribute, dispense or conduct research with those substances to the extent authorized by their registration and in conformity with the other provisions of this article.
(c) The following persons need not register and may lawfully possess controlled substances under this article:
(1) An agent or employee of any registered manufacturer, distributor or dispenser of any controlled substance if he is acting in the usual course of his business or employment;
(2) A common or contract carrier or warehouse, or an employee thereof, whose possession of any controlled substance is in the usual course of business or employment;
(3) An ultimate user or a person in possession of any controlled substance pursuant to a valid prescription or in lawful possession of a Schedule V substance as defined in Section 41-29-121.
(d) The State Board of Pharmacy may waive by rule the requirement for registration of certain manufacturers, distributors or dispensers if it finds it consistent with the public health and safety.
(e) A separate registration is required at each principal place of business or professional practice where the applicant manufactures, distributes or dispenses controlled substances.
(f) The State Board of Pharmacy, the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, the State Board of Medical Licensure, the State Board of Dental Examiners and the Mississippi Board of Nursing may inspect the establishment of a registrant or applicant for registration in accordance with the regulations of these agencies as approved by the board.
SECTION 5. Section 41-29-127, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
41-29-127. (a) The State Board of Pharmacy shall register an applicant to manufacture or distribute controlled substances included in Sections 41-29-113 through 41-29-121 unless it determines that the issuance of that registration would be inconsistent with the public interest. In determining the public interest, the State Board of Pharmacy shall consider the following factors:
(1) Maintenance of effective controls against diversion of controlled substances into other than legitimate medical, scientific, or industrial channels;
(2) Compliance with applicable state and local law;
(3) Any convictions of the applicant under any federal and state laws relating to any controlled substance;
(4) Past experience in the manufacture or distribution of controlled substances and the existence in the applicant's establishment of effective controls against diversion;
(5) Furnishing by the applicant of false or fraudulent material in any application filed under this article;
(6) Suspension or revocation of the applicant's federal registration to manufacture, distribute, or dispense controlled substances as authorized by federal law; and
(7) Any other factors relevant to and consistent with the public health and safety.
(b) Registration under subsection (a) does not entitle a registrant to manufacture and distribute controlled substances in Schedule I or II, as set out in Sections 41-29-113 and 41-29-115, other than those specified in the registration.
(c) Practitioners must be registered to dispense any controlled substances or to conduct research with controlled substances in Schedules II through V, as set out in Sections 41-29-115 through 41-29-121, if they are authorized to dispense or conduct research under the law of this state. The State Board of Pharmacy need not require separate registration under this section for practitioners engaging in research with nonnarcotic controlled substances in the said Schedules II through V where the registrant is already registered therein in another capacity. Practitioners registered under federal law to conduct research with Schedule I substances, as set out in Section 41-29-113, may conduct research with Schedule I substances within this state upon furnishing the Sstate Bboard of Hhealth evidence of that federal registration.
(d) Compliance by manufacturers and distributors with the provisions of the federal law respecting registration, excluding fees, entitles them to be registered under this article.
SECTION 6. Section 41-29-129, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
41-29-129. (1) A registration to manufacture, distribute, or dispense a controlled substance may be suspended or revoked by the State Board of Pharmacy upon a finding that the registrant:
(a) Has willfully furnished false or fraudulent material information in any application filed under this article;
(b) Has been convicted of a felony within the past five (5) years and has not been pardoned and his citizenship restored under any state or federal law relating to any controlled substance;
(c) Has had his federal registration suspended or revoked to manufacture, distribute, or dispense controlled substances;
(d) Has violated or failed to comply with any duly promulgated regulation of the State Board of Pharmacy which reflects adversely on the registrant's reliability and integrity with respect to controlled substances;
(e) Has violated the Uniform Controlled Substances Law of the State of Mississippi;
(f) Has violated any duly promulgated rule or regulation of the State Board of Pharmacy pertaining to the manufacture, distribution, storage, possession, control or dispensing of controlled substances;
(g) Has been convicted of a violation relating to any substance defined in this article as a controlled substance;
(h) Has dispensed any controlled substance if the registrant knew the prescription was not valid under the provisions of this article.
(2) The State Board of Pharmacy may limit revocation or suspension of a registration to the particular controlled substance with respect to which grounds for revocation or suspension exist.
(3) If the board or the State Board of Pharmacy suspends or revokes a registration, all controlled substances owned or possessed by the registrant at the time of suspension or the effective date of the revocation order may be placed under seal. No disposition may be made of substances under seal until the time for taking an appeal has elapsed or until all appeals have been concluded unless a court, upon application therefor, orders the sale of perishable substances and the deposit of the proceeds of the sale with the court. Upon a revocation order becoming final, all controlled substances may be forfeited to the state. All state professional or business licensing agencies shall promptly notify the bureau of all orders of suspensions or revocations which are the result of drug violations or drug-related matters.
(4) The bureau shall promptly notify the federal Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs of all orders suspending or revoking registration and all forfeitures of controlled substances.
SECTION 7. Section 41-29-131, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
41-29-131. (1) Upon presentation before the State Board of Pharmacy by any person showing grounds for denying, suspending or revoking a controlled substance registration, or refusing a renewal of registration, the State Board of Pharmacy may, in its discretion, deny such registration, revoke or suspend such registration or refuse a renewal of such registration.
(2) Before denying, suspending or revoking a registration, or refusing a renewal of registration, the State Board of Pharmacy shall serve upon the applicant or registrant an order to show cause why registration should not be denied, revoked or suspended, or why the renewal should not be refused. The order to show cause shall contain a statement of the basis therefor and shall call upon the applicant or registrant to appear before the State Board of Pharmacy at a time and place not less than twenty (20) days after the date of service of the order, but in the case of a denial or renewal of registration, the show cause order shall be served not later than thirty (30) days before the expiration of the registration. Such order may be served by mailing a copy thereof by United States, first-class, certified mail, postage prepaid, to the last-known residence or business address of such registrant. The hearings on such charges shall be at such time and place as the State Board of Pharmacy may prescribe.
(3) At such hearings, all witnesses shall be sworn by a member of the State Board of Pharmacy, and stenographic notes of the proceedings may be taken and filed as a part of the record in the case. Any party to the proceedings requesting it shall be furnished with a copy of such stenographic notes upon payment to the State Board of Pharmacy of such fees as it shall prescribe, not exceeding, however, the actual cost thereof.
(4) The State Board of Pharmacy is hereby authorized and empowered to issue subpoenas for the attendance of witnesses and the production of books and papers. The process issued by the State Board of Pharmacy shall extend to all parts of the state and such process shall be served by any person designated by the State Board of Pharmacy for such service. The person serving such process shall receive such compensation as may be allowed by the State Board of Pharmacy, not to exceed the fee prescribed by law for similar services. All witnesses who shall be subpoenaed, and who shall appear in any proceedings before the State Board of Pharmacy, shall receive the same fees and mileage as allowed by law and all such fees shall be taxed as part of the costs in the case.
(5) Where in any proceeding before the State Board of Pharmacy any witness shall fail or refuse to attend upon subpoena issued by the board, shall refuse to testify, or shall refuse to produce any books and papers, the production of which is called for by the subpoena, the attendance of such witness and the giving of his testimony and the production of the books and papers shall be enforced by any court of competent jurisdiction of this state in the manner provided for the enforcement of attendance and testimony of witnesses in civil cases in the courts of this state.
(6) The State Board of Pharmacy shall conduct said hearing in an orderly and continuous manner, granting continuances only when the ends of justice may be served. The State Board of Pharmacy shall, within sixty (60) days after the conclusion of the hearing, reduce its decision to writing and forward an attested true copy thereof to the last-known residence or business address of such applicant, registrant or holder of a registration, by way of United States, first-class, certified mail, postage prepaid.
(7) Such applicant, registrant, holder of a registration or person aggrieved shall have the right of appeal from an adverse ruling or order or decision of the State Board of Pharmacy to the chancery court, upon forwarding notice of appeal to the State Board of Pharmacy thirty (30) days after the decision of the board is mailed in the manner here contemplated. An appeal will not be allowed in the event notice of appeal, together with the appeal bond hereinafter required, shall not have been forwarded for the State Board of Pharmacy within said period of thirty (30) days.
(8) Appeal shall be to the chancery court of the county and judicial district of the residence of the appellant, or to the chancery court of the First Judicial District of Hinds County, * * * at the election of the appellant. The notice of appeal shall elect venue, unless the appellant be a nonresident * * *, in which event the State Board of Pharmacy shall certify all documents and evidence directly to the chancery court of the First Judicial District of Hinds County for further proceedings. The appeal shall thereupon be heard in due course by the court, which shall review the record and make its determination thereon.
(9) The appellant shall, together with the notice of appeal, forward to and post with the State Board of Pharmacy a satisfactory bond in the amount of two hundred dollars ($200.00) for the payment of any costs which may be adjudged against him.
(10) Any order, rule or decision of the State Board of Pharmacy shall not take effect until after the time for appeal shall have expired. In the event of an appeal, the appeal shall act as a supersedeas and the court shall dispose of said appeal and enter its decision promptly. The hearing on the appeal may, in the discretion of the chancellor, be tried in vacation.
(11) These proceedings shall be conducted in accordance with applicable administrative procedures without regard to any criminal prosecution or other proceeding. Proceedings to refuse renewal of registration shall not abate the existing registration, which shall remain in effect pending the outcome of the administrative hearing.
(12) The Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics or the State Board of Pharmacy may suspend, without an order to show cause, any registration simultaneously with the institution of proceedings under Section 41-29-129, or where renewal of registration is refused, if it finds that there is an imminent danger to the public health or safety which warrants this action. The suspension shall continue in effect until the conclusion of the proceedings, including judicial review thereof, unless sooner withdrawn by the suspending agency or dissolved by a court of competent jurisdiction.
SECTION 8. Section 41-29-133, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
41-29-133. Persons registered to manufacture, distribute or dispense controlled substances under this article shall keep records and maintain inventories in conformance with the record-keeping and inventory requirements of federal law and with any additional rules of the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, the State Board of Pharmacy, the State Board of Medical Licensure, the State Board of Dental Examiners, the Mississippi Board of Nursing or the State Board of Optometry may issue.
SECTION 9. Section 41-29-137, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
41-29-137. (a) (1) Except when dispensed directly by a practitioner, other than a pharmacy, to an ultimate user, no controlled substance in Schedule II, as set out in Section 41-29-115, may be dispensed without the written valid prescription of a practitioner. A practitioner shall keep a record of all controlled substances in Schedule I, II and III administered, dispensed or professionally used by him otherwise than by prescription.
(2) In emergency situations, as defined by rule of the State Board of Pharmacy, said Schedule II drugs may be dispensed upon the oral valid prescription of a practitioner, reduced promptly to writing and filed by the pharmacy. Prescriptions shall be retained in conformity with the requirements of Section 41-29-133. No prescription for a Schedule II substance may be refilled unless renewed by prescription issued by a licensed medical doctor.
(b) Except when dispensed directly by a practitioner, other than a pharmacy, to an ultimate user, a controlled substance included in Schedule III or IV, as set out in Sections 41-29-117 and 41-29-119, which is a prescription drug as determined under Federal Controlled Substances Act, shall not be dispensed without a written or oral valid prescription of a practitioner. The prescription shall not be filled or refilled more than six (6) months after the date thereof or be refilled more than five (5) times, unless renewed by the practitioner.
(c) A controlled substance included in Schedule V, as set out in Section 41-29-121, shall not be distributed or dispensed other than for a medical purpose.
(d) An optometrist certified to prescribe and use therapeutic pharmaceutical agents under Sections 73-19-153 through 73-19-165 shall be authorized to prescribe oral analgesic controlled substances in Schedule IV or V, as pertains to treatment and management of eye disease by written prescription only.
(e) Administration by injection of any pharmaceutical product authorized in this section is expressly prohibited except when dispensed directly by a practitioner other than a pharmacy.
(f) (1) For the purposes of this Article, Title 73, Chapter 21, and Title 73, Chapter 25, Mississippi Code of 1972, as it pertains to prescriptions for controlled substances, a "valid prescription" means a prescription that is issued for a legitimate medical purpose in the usual course of professional practice by:
(A) A practitioner who has conducted at least one (1) in-person medical evaluation of the patient; or
(B) A covering practitioner.
(2) (A) "In-person medical evaluation" means a medical evaluation that is conducted with the patient in the physical presence of the practitioner, without regard to whether portions of the evaluation are conducted by other health professionals.
(B) "Covering practitioner" means a practitioner who conducts a medical evaluation other than an in-person medical evaluation at the request of a practitioner who has conducted at least one (1) in-person medical evaluation of the patient or an evaluation of the patient through the practice of telemedicine within the previous twenty-four (24) months and who is temporarily unavailable to conduct the evaluation of the patient.
(3) A prescription for a controlled substance based solely on a consumer's completion of an online medical questionnaire is not a valid prescription.
(4) Nothing in this subsection shall apply to:
(A) A prescription issued by a practitioner engaged in the practice of telemedicine as authorized under state or federal law; or
(B) The dispensing or selling of a controlled substance pursuant to practices as determined by the United States Attorney General by regulation.
SECTION 10. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2009.