AB 1785

AB1785:v99#DOCUMENT

Bill Start

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 1785

An act to amend Section 11100 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to controlled substances.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 1785, as introduced, Hoover. California Uniform Controlled Substances Act: online retailer.

The California Uniform Controlled Substances Act (act), among other things, requires a retail distributor to comply with specific requirements for the sale of certain types of controlled substances, including, among other requirements, not selling in a single transaction more than 3 packages of a product that is known to contain ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, norpseudoephedrine, or phenylpropanolamine. A violation of these requirements by a retail distributor is a crime.

The act defines a “retail distributor,” for its purposes, as a grocery store, general merchandise store, drugstore, or other related entity, the activities of which, as a distributor of ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, norpseudoephedrine, or phenylpropanolamine products, are limited exclusively to the sale of ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, norpseudoephedrine, or phenylpropanolamine products for personal use both in number of sales and volume of sales, either directly to walk-in customers or in face-to-face transactions by direct sales.

This bill would include an online retailer, as specified, within the definition of a retail distributor. By expanding the types of entities that are subject to the requirements imposed on retail distributors under the act, the violation of which is a crime, this bill would expand the scope of a crime, thereby imposing a state-mandated local program.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Digest Key

Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: YES

Bill Text

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

Section 11100 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read:

11100.

(a) Any manufacturer, wholesaler, retailer, or other person or entity in this state that sells, transfers, or otherwise furnishes any of the following substances to any person or entity in this state or any other state shall submit a report to the Department of Justice of all of those transactions:

(1) Phenyl-2-propanone.

(2) Methylamine.

(3) Ethylamine.

(4) D-lysergic acid.

(5) Ergotamine tartrate.

(6) Diethyl malonate.

(7) Malonic acid.

(8) Ethyl malonate.

(9) Barbituric acid.

(10) Piperidine.

(11) N-acetylanthranilic acid.

(12) Pyrrolidine.

(13) Phenylacetic acid.

(14) Anthranilic acid.

(15) Morpholine.

(16) Ephedrine.

(17) Pseudoephedrine.

(18) Norpseudoephedrine.

(19) Phenylpropanolamine.

(20) Propionic anhydride.

(21) Isosafrole.

(22) Safrole.

(23) Piperonal.

(24) Thionyl chloride.

(25) Benzyl cyanide.

(26) Ergonovine maleate.

(27) N-methylephedrine.

(28) N-ethylephedrine.

(29) N-methylpseudoephedrine.

(30) N-ethylpseudoephedrine.

(31) Chloroephedrine.

(32) Chloropseudoephedrine.

(33) Hydriodic acid.

(34) Gamma-butyrolactone, including butyrolactone; butyrolactone gamma; 4-butyrolactone; 2(3H)-furanone dihydro; dihydro-2(3H)-furanone; tetrahydro-2-furanone; 1,2-butanolide; 1,4-butanolide; 4-butanolide; gamma-hydroxybutyric acid lactone; 3-hydroxybutyric acid lactone and 4-hydroxybutanoic acid lactone with Chemical Abstract Service number (96-48-0).

(35) 1,4-butanediol, including butanediol; butane-1,4-diol; 1,4-butylene glycol; butylene glycol; 1,4-dihydroxybutane; 1,4-tetramethylene glycol; tetramethylene glycol; tetramethylene 1,4-diol with Chemical Abstract Service number (110-63-4).

(36) Red phosphorus, including white phosphorus, hypophosphorous acid and its salts, ammonium hypophosphite, calcium hypophosphite, iron hypophosphite, potassium hypophosphite, manganese hypophosphite, magnesium hypophosphite, sodium hypophosphite, and phosphorous acid and its salts.

(37) Iodine or tincture of iodine.

(38) Any of the substances listed by the Department of Justice in regulations promulgated pursuant to subdivision (b).

(b) The Department of Justice may adopt rules and regulations in accordance with Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code that add substances to subdivision (a) if the substance is a precursor to a controlled substance and delete substances from subdivision (a). However, no regulation adding or deleting a substance shall have any effect beyond March 1 of the year following the calendar year during which the regulation was adopted.

(c) (1) (A) Any manufacturer, wholesaler, retailer, or other person or entity in this state, prior to selling, transferring, or otherwise furnishing any substance specified in subdivision (a) to any person or business entity in this state or any other state, shall require (i) a letter of authorization from that person or business entity that includes the currently valid business license number or federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) registration number, the address of the business, and a full description of how the substance is to be used, and (ii) proper identification from the purchaser. The manufacturer, wholesaler, retailer, or other person or entity in this state shall retain this information in a readily available manner for three years. The requirement for a full description of how the substance is to be used does not require the person or business entity to reveal their chemical processes that are typically considered trade secrets and proprietary information.

(B) For the purposes of this paragraph, “proper identification” for in-state or out-of-state purchasers includes two or more of the following: federal tax identification number; seller’s permit identification number; city or county business license number; license issued by the State Department of Public Health; registration number issued by the federal Drug Enforcement Administration; precursor business permit number issued by the Department of Justice; driver’s license; or other identification issued by a state.

(2) (A) Any manufacturer, wholesaler, retailer, or other person or entity in this state that exports a substance specified in subdivision (a) to any person or business entity located in a foreign country shall, on or before the date of exportation, submit to the Department of Justice a notification of that transaction, which notification shall include the name and quantity of the substance to be exported and the name, address, and, if assigned by the foreign country or subdivision thereof, business identification number of the person or business entity located in a foreign country importing the substance.

(B) The department may authorize the submission of the notification on a monthly basis with respect to repeated, regular transactions between an exporter and an importer involving a substance specified in subdivision (a), if the department determines that a pattern of regular supply of the substance exists between the exporter and importer and that the importer has established a record of utilization of the substance for lawful purposes.

(d) (1) Any manufacturer, wholesaler, retailer, or other person or entity in this state that sells, transfers, or otherwise furnishes a substance specified in subdivision (a) to a person or business entity in this state or any other state shall, not less than 21 days prior to delivery of the substance, submit a report of the transaction, which includes the identification information specified in subdivision (c), to the Department of Justice. The Department of Justice may authorize the submission of the reports on a monthly basis with respect to repeated, regular transactions between the furnisher and the recipient involving the substance or substances if the Department of Justice determines that a pattern of regular supply of the substance or substances exists between the manufacturer, wholesaler, retailer, or other person or entity that sells, transfers, or otherwise furnishes the substance or substances and the recipient of the substance or substances, and the recipient has established a record of utilization of the substance or substances for lawful purposes.

(2) The person selling, transferring, or otherwise furnishing any substance specified in subdivision (a) shall affix his or her their signature or otherwise identify himself or herself themself as a witness to the identification of the purchaser or purchasing individual, and shall, if a common carrier is used, maintain a manifest of the delivery to the purchaser for three years.

(e) This section shall not apply to any of the following:

(1) Any pharmacist or other authorized person who sells or furnishes a substance upon the prescription of a physician, dentist, podiatrist, or veterinarian.

(2) Any physician, dentist, podiatrist, or veterinarian who administers or furnishes a substance to his or her their patients.

(3) Any manufacturer or wholesaler licensed by the California State Board of Pharmacy that sells, transfers, or otherwise furnishes a substance to a licensed pharmacy, physician, dentist, podiatrist, or veterinarian, or a retail distributor as defined in subdivision (h), provided that the manufacturer or wholesaler submits records of any suspicious sales or transfers as determined by the Department of Justice.

(4) Any analytical research facility that is registered with the federal Drug Enforcement Administration of the United States Department of Justice.

(5) A state-licensed health care facility that administers or furnishes a substance to its patients.

(6) (A) Any sale, transfer, furnishing, or receipt of any product that contains ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, norpseudoephedrine, or phenylpropanolamine and which is lawfully sold, transferred, or furnished over the counter without a prescription pursuant to the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. Sec. 301 et seq.) or regulations adopted thereunder. However, this section shall apply to preparations in solid or liquid dosage form, except pediatric liquid forms, as defined, containing ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, norpseudoephedrine, or phenylpropanolamine where the individual transaction involves more than three packages or nine grams of ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, norpseudoephedrine, or phenylpropanolamine.

(B) Any ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, norpseudoephedrine, or phenylpropanolamine product subsequently removed from exemption pursuant to Section 814 of Title 21 of the United States Code shall similarly no longer be exempt from any state reporting or permitting requirement, unless otherwise reinstated pursuant to subdivision (d) or (e) of Section 814 of Title 21 of the United States Code as an exempt product.

(7) The sale, transfer, furnishing, or receipt of any betadine or povidone solution with an iodine content not exceeding 1 percent in containers of eight ounces or less, or any tincture of iodine not exceeding 2 percent in containers of one ounce or less, that is sold over the counter.

(8) Any transfer of a substance specified in subdivision (a) for purposes of lawful disposal as waste.

(f) (1) Any person specified in subdivision (a) or (d) who does not submit a report as required by that subdivision or who knowingly submits a report with false or fictitious information shall be punished by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding six months, by a fine not exceeding five thousand dollars ($5,000), or by both the fine and imprisonment.

(2) Any person specified in subdivision (a) or (d) who has previously been convicted of a violation of paragraph (1) shall, upon a subsequent conviction thereof, be punished by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 of the Penal Code, or by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, by a fine not exceeding one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000), or by both the fine and imprisonment.

(g) (1) Except as otherwise provided in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (6) of subdivision (e), it is unlawful for any manufacturer, wholesaler, retailer, or other person to sell, transfer, or otherwise furnish a substance specified in subdivision (a) to a person under 18 years of age.

(2) Except as otherwise provided in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (6) of subdivision (e), it is unlawful for any person under 18 years of age to possess a substance specified in subdivision (a).

(3) Notwithstanding any other law, it is unlawful for any retail distributor to (i) sell in a single transaction more than three packages of a product that he or she knows they know to contain ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, norpseudoephedrine, or phenylpropanolamine, or (ii) knowingly sell more than nine grams of ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, norpseudoephedrine, or phenylpropanolamine, other than pediatric liquids as defined. Except as otherwise provided in this section, the three package per transaction limitation or nine gram per transaction limitation imposed by this paragraph shall apply to any product that is lawfully sold, transferred, or furnished over the counter without a prescription pursuant to the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. Sec. 301 et seq.), or regulations adopted thereunder, unless exempted from the requirements of the federal Controlled Substances Act by the federal Drug Enforcement Administration pursuant to Section 814 of Title 21 of the United States Code.

(4) (A) A first violation of this subdivision is a misdemeanor.

(B) Any person who has previously been convicted of a violation of this subdivision shall, upon a subsequent conviction thereof, be punished by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, by a fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or by both the fine and imprisonment.

(h) For the purposes of this article, the following terms have the following meanings:

(1) “Drug store” is any entity described in Code 5912 of the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) Manual published by the United States Office of Management and Budget, 1987 edition.

(2) “General merchandise store” is any entity described in Codes 5311 to 5399, inclusive, and Code 5499 of the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) Manual published by the United States Office of Management and Budget, 1987 edition.

(3) “Grocery store” is any entity described in Code 5411 of the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) Manual published by the United States Office of Management and Budget, 1987 edition.

(4) “Pediatric liquid” means a nonencapsulated liquid whose unit measure according to product labeling is stated in milligrams, ounces, or other similar measure. In no instance shall the dosage units exceed 15 milligrams of phenylpropanolamine or pseudoephedrine per five milliliters of liquid product, except for liquid products primarily intended for administration to children under two years of age for which the recommended dosage unit does not exceed two milliliters and the total package content does not exceed one fluid ounce.

(5) “Retail distributor” means a grocery store, general merchandise store, drugstore, or other related entity, including an online retailer, the activities of which, as a distributor of ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, norpseudoephedrine, or phenylpropanolamine products, are limited exclusively to the sale of ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, norpseudoephedrine, or phenylpropanolamine products for personal use both in number of sales and volume of sales, either directly to walk-in customers or in face-to-face transactions by direct sales. by direct in-store sales, or online sales fulfilled by delivery, in-person pickup, or curbside pickup. “Retail distributor” includes an entity that makes a direct sale, but does not include the parent company of that entity if the company is not involved in direct sales regulated by this article.

(6) “Sale for personal use” means the sale in a single transaction to an individual customer for a legitimate medical use of a product containing ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, norpseudoephedrine, or phenylpropanolamine in dosages at or below that specified in paragraph (3) of subdivision (g). “Sale for personal use” also includes the sale of those products to employers to be dispensed to employees from first-aid kits or medicine chests.

(i) It is the intent of the Legislature that this section shall preempt all local ordinances or regulations governing the sale by a retail distributor of over-the-counter products containing ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, norpseudoephedrine, or phenylpropanolamine.

SEC. 2.

No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution.