[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1056 Introduced in House (IH)]






109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1056

To amend the Controlled Substances Act with respect to the distribution 
              of pseudoephedrine, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 2, 2005

  Ms. Hooley introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
 Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on 
   the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
  Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
           within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Controlled Substances Act with respect to the distribution 
              of pseudoephedrine, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Methamphetamine Precursor Control 
Act of 2005''.

SEC. 2. RESTRICTIONS ON IMPORTATION.

    (a) In General.--Section 1002(a) of the Controlled Substances 
Import and Export Act (21 U.S.C. 952(a)) is amended--
            (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by inserting 
        ``or ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, or phenylpropanolamine,'' 
        after ``schedule III, IV, or V of title II,''; and
            (2) in paragraph (1), by inserting ``, and of ephedrine, 
        pseudoephedrine, and phenylpropanolamine,'' after ``coca 
        leaves''.
    (b) Information on Foreign Chain of Distribution; Import 
Restrictions Regarding Failure of Distributors to Cooperate.--Section 
1018 of the Controlled Substances Import and Export Act (21 U.S.C. 971) 
is amended by adding at the end the following subsection:
    ``(f)(1) With respect to a registered person importing ephedrine, 
pseudoephedrine, or phenylpropanolamine (referred to in this section as 
an `importer'), a notice of importation under subsection (a) or (b) 
shall include all information known to the importer on the chain of 
distribution of such chemical from the manufacturer to the importer.
    ``(2) For the purpose of preventing or responding to the diversion 
of ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, or phenylpropanolamine for use in the 
illicit production of methamphetamine, the Attorney General may, in the 
case of any person who is a manufacturer or distributor of such 
chemical in the chain of distribution referred to in paragraph (1) 
(referred to in this subsection as a `foreign-chain distributor'), 
request that such distributor provide to the Attorney General 
information known to the distributor on the distribution of the 
chemical, including sales.
    ``(3) If the Attorney General determines that a foreign-chain 
distributor is refusing to cooperate with the Attorney General in 
obtaining the information referred to in paragraph (2), the Attorney 
General may, in accordance with procedures that apply under subsection 
(c), issue an order prohibiting the importation of ephedrine, 
pseudoephedrine, or phenylpropanolamine in any case in which such 
distributor is part of the chain of distribution for such chemical. Not 
later than 60 days prior to issuing the order, the Attorney General 
shall publish in the Federal Register a notice of intent to issue the 
order. During such 60-day period, imports of the chemical with respect 
to such distributor may not be restricted under this paragraph.''.

SEC. 3. METHWATCH PROGRAM; INFORMATION FOR PERSONS SELLING AT RETAIL.

    (a) In General.--The Attorney General, acting through the 
Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration and in 
consultation with the States, shall carry out a program to provide 
information to retailers regarding the purchase of precursor products 
by individuals who may intend to use the products in the illicit 
production of methamphetamine.
    (b) Certain Requirements.--The activities of the Attorney General 
in carrying out the program under subsection (a) shall include the 
following:
            (1) Providing information to retailers on preventing the 
        sale of precursor products to individuals referred to in such 
        subsection and on preventing the theft of the products by such 
        individuals.
            (2) Establishing a system through which retailers can 
        report suspicious purchases of precursor products and obtain 
        appropriate technical assistance. The system shall use an 
        Internet site (or portion thereof), or toll-free telephone 
        communications, or both, as determined appropriate by the 
        Attorney General.
            (3) Encouraging retailers to place precursor products such 
        that customers do not have direct access to the products 
        (commonly known as behind the counter).
    (c) Designation of Program.--The program under subsection (a) shall 
be designated by the Attorney General as the MethWatch program.
    (d) Definitions.--For purposes of this section:
            (1) The term ``retailers'' means persons whose 
        registrations pursuant to section 303(h) of the Controlled 
        Substances Act authorize sales of ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, 
        or phenylpropanolamine at retail.
            (2) The term ``precursor products'' means products 
        containing ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, or phenylpropanolamine.

SEC. 4. REVOCATION OF REGISTRATION.

    (a) Controlled Substances Act.--
            (1) Number of notices regarding violations.--Section 304 of 
        the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 824) is amended by 
        adding at the end the following subsection:
    ``(h) In the case of a person whose registration pursuant to 
section 303(h) includes authority regarding ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, 
or phenylpropanolamine, if such person has received four written 
notifications from the Attorney General that the Attorney General 
considers the person to be in violation of this Act with respect to 
such a chemical, each of which notices involves a separate violation, 
the Attorney General shall in accordance with procedures under this 
section commence proceedings to revoke such authority of the person.''.
            (2) Standard regarding convictions.--The Controlled 
        Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 801 et seq.) is amended--
                    (A) in section 303(f)(3), by striking ``laws 
                relating to'' and all that follows and inserting 
                ``laws.''; and
                    (B) in section 304(a)(2), by striking ``or of any 
                State, relating to'' and all that follows and inserting 
                ``or of any State;''.
    (b) Controlled Substances Import and Export Act; Number of Notices 
Regarding Violations.--Section 1008(c)(2) of the Controlled Substances 
Act (21 U.S.C. 824(c)(2)) is amended by adding at the end the following 
subparagraph:
    ``(C) In the case of a person whose registration pursuant to 
subparagraph (A) includes authority regarding the importation of 
ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, or phenylpropanolamine, if such person has 
received four written notifications from the Attorney General that the 
Attorney General considers the person to be in violation of this Act 
with respect to such a chemical, each of which notices involves a 
separate violation, the Attorney General shall in accordance with 
procedures under this section commence proceedings to revoke such 
authority of the person.''.

SEC. 5. RESTRICTIONS ON SALES OF EPHEDRINE AND PSEUDOEPHEDRINE.

    The Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 801 et seq.) is amended--
            (1) in section 303, by adding at the end the following 
        subsection:
    ``(i) A registration under subsection (h) that includes authority 
for the sale of ephedrine or pseudoephedrine at retail shall provide 
that the registration does not permit such a sale in which a quantity 
of such chemical in excess of 9.0 grams is sold in a single 
transaction.''; and
            (2) in section 402(a)--
                    (A) in paragraph (10), by striking ``or'' after the 
                semicolon at the end;
                    (B) in paragraph (11), by striking the period at 
                the end and inserting a ``; or'' and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following paragraph:
            ``(12) who is a registrant with a registration referred to 
        in section 303(i)--
                    ``(A) to sell ephedrine or pseudoephedrine at 
                retail in a single transaction in a quantity not 
                authorized by the registration; or
                    ``(B) to sell pseudoephedrine at retail in 
                circumstances in which such chemical is mailed or 
                shipped directly to the purchaser rather than the 
                purchaser taking possession of the chemical through a 
                face-to-face transaction with the registrant.''.

SEC. 6. RESTRICTIONS ON POSSESSION OF PSEUDOEPHEDRINE.

    Section 404(a) of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 844(a)) 
is amended by inserting after the second sentence the following: ``It 
shall be unlawful for any person knowingly or intentionally to possess 
pseudoephedrine in a quantity exceeding 24.0 grams unless such person 
has been issued a registration pursuant to section 303(h) that includes 
authority regarding such chemical or unless the chemical is possessed 
by the person for a legitimate medical purpose.''

SEC. 7. ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR RESEARCH ON MEDICAL ALTERNATIVES TO 
              PSEUDOEPHEDRINE.

    For the purpose of conducting and supporting research through the 
National Institutes of Health toward developing one or more drugs to 
serve as medical alternatives to the use of pseudoephedrine, there are 
authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary for fiscal 
year 2006 and subsequent fiscal years. Such authorization is in 
addition to other authorizations of appropriations that are available 
for such purpose.

SEC. 8. REPORTS.

    (a) Annual Report.--The Attorney General, acting through the 
Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration, shall annually 
submit to the Congress a report on the progress being made toward the 
goal of preventing precursor products (as defined in section 3) from 
being used in the illicit production of methamphetamine. Each such 
report may include any recommendations of the Attorney General for 
modifications to legislative or administrative authorities regarding 
such products.
    (b) Additional Reports.--Not later than one year after the date of 
the enactment of this Act, the Attorney General, acting through the 
Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration, shall submit to 
the Congress a report providing the following:
            (1) An evaluation of the effectiveness of programs of the 
        States to prevent precursor products from being used in the 
        illicit production of methamphetamine, including the program 
        carried out by the State of Oregon to maintain a data base of 
        transactions in such products.
            (2) An evaluation of whether Federal programs similar to 
        any of such State programs should be established.
            (3) With respect to foreign countries in which significant 
        amounts of precursor products are manufactured, an evaluation 
        of whether such countries have appropriate statutes and 
        regulations to prevent the products from being so used.
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