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Federal Pseudoephedrine Product Law
CGA Offers Mandatory DEA
Combat Methamphetamine Act Training
CGA is providing a new training and certification tool that lets you train and maintain electronic records of compliance for your store associates.
This educational program is essential to bring your company and staff into compliance with the Drug Enforcement Administration’s requirements.
The program, developed in conjunction with LearnSomething and the Food Marketing Institute, gives you online training designed specifically for supermarkets in full compliance with DEA requirements. The program helps you train your staff on the newly required rules for the sales of products that can be converted into the harmful drug Methamphetamine.
Click here to purchase the course.
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Retailers: New Federal Pseudoephedrine
Product Law Begins Sept. 30
- Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act of 2005 (CMEA)
Mandatory Compliance Date: September 30, 2006
The second phase of the federal Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act that passed earlier this year begins Sept. 30, 2006 when retailers will be required to pull all pseudoephedrine products (liquid, liquid gel caps and pediatrics) from store shelves and place them behind a counter, or in a locked display.
In addition retailers must maintain a log of each PSE transaction and certify that applicable sales personnel adequately understand the PSE sales restrictions and requirements. Click here to review a sample log sheet.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) released a training program to fulfill the mandate established by the Combat Methamphetamine Act of 2006 requiring retailers selling pseudoephedrine to train personnel regarding sales restrictions. The law requires sales personnel to be trained by Sept. 30, 2006.
The PSE restrictions apply to all forms of common allergy, cold and cough medicines containing pseudoephedrine, ephedrine and phenylpropanolamine, including pediatric, gel-cap, liquid and multi-ingredient.
In April, the first phase of the Act went into effect. Retailers were prohibited from selling more than 3.6 grams of PSE to a consumer in a given day; while consumers were prohibited from purchasing more than 9 grams of PSE in a 30-day period.
In addition to the federal requirements, California law and several state counties have enacted additional restrictions. To review a CGA chart outlining all three (federal, state, local) restrictions, click here.
The Drug Enforcement Administration has commented on the recently enacted PSE restrictions. Some of their comments are included below and will be reflected in regulations expected to be released in the next few months.
3.6 gram per day sales limit: DEA interprets this restriction to govern a single calendar day, rather than a 24 hour period. Representative Barton (R-Texas) sent a letter to DEA to clarify the intent of these provisions. It was originally intended to be a transaction limit but was subsequently changed to a daily sales limit to prevent individuals from making multiple trips to the cash register.
According to Rep. Barton, “the authors of the provision were deliberate in avoiding legislative language that would result in employees examining the logbook to determine whether an individual had exceeded the daily sales limit,” and that “the statutory construction of the Act is clear that a violation occurs only if the individual conducting the transaction on behalf of the regulated seller has actual knowledge, independent of consulting a logbook, at the time of sale that the purchaser has exceeded the daily sales limit of 3.6 grams.”
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has created a Frequently Asked Questions document retailers can use to answer consumer questions regarding the new pseudoephedrine law.
| 9 gram per 30 day purchase limit: DEA indicated that this is a purchase limitation to be enforced by DEA and should not be construed as a sales restriction to be enforced by retailers. This provision allows law enforcement agencies to use the Act when they find a “carload” of PSE containing products. As such, it is viewed as a tool for use by law enforcement and is not intended to be enforced by retailers through logbook checks.
Preemption: DEA is currently interpreting the interaction of the new federal law with existing state laws. The federal law stipulates that the most stringent sections of each law will be enforced. No final determination has been made and it is unclear how this would interact with local restrictions more stringent than either the federal or state provisions.
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