4140-4149
BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS CODE
SECTION 4140-4149
4140. No person shall possess or have under his or her control any hypodermic needle or syringe except when acquired in accordance with this article. 4141. No person shall furnish hypodermic needles or syringes, by sale or otherwise, without a license issued by the board, except as otherwise provided by this article. 4142. Except as otherwise provided by this article, no hypodermic needle or syringe shall be sold at retail except upon the prescription of a physician, dentist, veterinarian, podiatrist, or naturopathic doctor pursuant to Section 3640.7. 4143. This article shall not apply to the sale of hypodermic syringes and needles at wholesale by pharmacies, drug wholesalers, drug manufacturers or manufacturers and dealers in surgical instruments to pharmacies, physicians, dentists, podiatrists, veterinarians, or persons to whom a license has been issued under this article. 4144. A person may sell or obtain hypodermic needles and hypodermic syringes without a prescription or permit, for uses that the board determines are industrial, and that person shall not be required to comply with Section 4145 or 4146. 4145. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a pharmacist or physician may, without a prescription or a permit, furnish hypodermic needles and syringes for human use, and a person may, without a prescription or license, obtain hypodermic needles and syringes from a pharmacist or physician for human use, if one of the following requirements is met: (1) The person is known to the furnisher and the furnisher has previously been provided a prescription or other proof of a legitimate medical need requiring a hypodermic needle or syringe to administer a medicine or treatment. (2) Pursuant to authorization by a county, with respect to all of the territory within the county, or a city, with respect to the territory within the city, for the period commencing January 1, 2005, and ending December 31, 2018, a pharmacist may furnish or sell 10 or fewer hypodermic needles or syringes at any one time to a person 18 years of age or older if the pharmacist works for a pharmacy that is registered with the Disease Prevention Demonstration Project pursuant to Chapter 13.5 (commencing with Section 121285) of Part 4 of Division 105 of the Health and Safety Code and the pharmacy complies with the provisions of that chapter. (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a pharmacist, veterinarian, or person licensed pursuant to Section 4141 may, without a prescription or license, furnish hypodermic needles and syringes for use on animals, and a person may, without a prescription or license, obtain hypodermic needles and syringes from a pharmacist, veterinarian, or person licensed pursuant to Section 4141 for use on animals, providing that no needle or syringe shall be furnished to a person who is unknown to the furnisher and unable to properly establish his or her identity. 4146. A pharmacy may accept the return of needles and syringes from the public if contained in a sharps container, as defined in Section 117750 of the Health and Safety Code. 4147. (a) For the purposes of this section, "playground" means any park or outdoor recreational area specifically designed to be used by children that has play equipment installed or any similar facility located on public or private school grounds or county parks. (b) Any hypodermic needle or syringe that is to be disposed of, shall be contained, treated, and disposed of, pursuant to Part 14 (commencing with Section 117600) of Division 104 of the Health and Safety Code. (c) It is unlawful to discard or dispose of a hypodermic needle or syringe upon the grounds of a playground, beach, park, or any public or private elementary, vocational, junior high, or high school. (d) A person who knowingly violates subdivision (c) is guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction shall be punished by a fine of not less than two hundred dollars ($200) and not more than two thousand dollars ($2,000), or by imprisonment in a county jail for up to six months, or by both that fine and imprisonment. (e) Subdivision (c) does not apply to the containment, treatment, and disposal of medical sharps waste from medical care or first aid services rendered on school grounds, nor to the containment, treatment, and disposal of hypodermic needles or syringes used for instructional or educational purposes on school grounds. 4148. All stocks of hypodermic needles or syringes shall be confiscated if found outside the licensed premises of any person holding a permit under Section 4141 and found not in the possession or under the control of a person entitled to an exemption under Section 4143, 4144, or 4145. 4149. (a) A nonresident distributor shall not sell or distribute hypodermic needles or syringes in this state without obtaining a license from the board pursuant to Section 4141. (b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), no license shall be required if the nonresident distributor sells or distributes solely through a person who is licensed as a wholesaler pursuant to Section 4160. (c) The Legislature, by enacting this section, does not intend a license issued to any nonresident distributor pursuant to this article to serve as evidence that the entity is doing business within this state.