Chapter 604: DISPOSAL OF UNUSED PHARMACEUTICALS HEADING: PL 2003, C. 679, §1 (NEW); §4 (AFF); EFFECTIVE 7/1/05
§2700. Unused Pharmaceutical Disposal Program
1.Establishment; purpose. There is established the Unused Pharmaceutical Disposal Program, referred to in this chapter as "the program." The purpose
of the program is to ensure the safe, effective and proper disposal of unused pharmaceuticals. For purposes of compliance
with federal law and regulation, the return of pharmaceuticals under this section is deemed to be for law enforcement purposes.
[
2003, c. 679, §1 (NEW);
2005, c. 297, §3 (AFF)
.]
2.Administration. The program is administered by the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency, referred to in this chapter as "the agency," established
in Title 25, section 2955.
[
2003, c. 679, §1 (NEW);
2005, c. 297, §3 (AFF)
.]
3.Return of pharmaceuticals. The agency shall create a system for the return of unused pharmaceuticals. The system must use prepaid mailing envelopes
into which the unused pharmaceuticals are placed and returned to a single collection location. The prepaid mailing envelopes
must be made available to the public at various locations, including, but not limited to, pharmacies, physicians' offices
and post offices. The agency may randomly assess the toxicity of materials received under the program as long as the assessment
results do not identify the patient, person who mailed the material, prescriber or pharmacy.
[
2003, c. 679, §1 (NEW);
2005, c. 297, §3 (AFF)
.]
4.Disposal of pharmaceuticals. The agency shall ensure that only agency officers handle the unused pharmaceuticals received pursuant to subsection 3.
The unused pharmaceuticals must be disposed of by the agency in a manner that is designed to be effective, secure and in compliance
with local, state and federal environmental requirements, including the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of
1976, as amended.
[
2003, c. 679, §1 (NEW);
2005, c. 297, §3 (AFF)
.]
5.Unused Pharmaceutical Disposal Program Fund; funding. The Unused Pharmaceutical Disposal Program Fund, referred to in this chapter as "the fund," is established within the agency
to be used by the director of the agency to fund or assist in funding the program. Any balance in the fund does not lapse
but is carried forward to be expended for the same purposes in succeeding fiscal years. The fund must be deposited with and
maintained and administered by the agency. The agency may accept funds into the fund from any non-General Fund source, including
grants or contributions of money or other things of value, that it determines necessary to carry out the purposes of this
chapter. Money received by the agency to establish and maintain the program must be used for the expenses of administering
this chapter.
[
2005, c. 297, §1 (AMD);
2005, c. 297, §3 (AFF)
.]
6.Rulemaking. The agency shall adopt rules to carry out the purposes of this chapter. Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection are routine
technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.
[
2003, c. 679, §1 (NEW);
2005, c. 297, §3 (AFF)
.]
7.Contingency. The program must operate with funding solely from the fund provided in subsection 5. The program may begin operation for
2 years on July 1st of any year in which notice is given by April 1st by the director of the agency to the State Budget Officer
that funding has been procured for the fund that is sufficient to operate the program for 2 years.
[
2005, c. 297, §2 (NEW);
2005, c. 297, §3 (AFF)
.]
SECTION HISTORY
2003, c. 679, §1 (NEW).
2003, c. 679, §4 (AFF).
2005, c. 297, §§1,2 (AMD).
2005, c. 297, §3 (AFF).
Data for this page extracted on 02/09/2010 08:47:18.