[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1378 Introduced in House (IH)]






109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1378

 To amend the Controlled Substances Act with respect to the regulation 
 of ephedrine alkaloids, including ephedrine and pseudoephedrine, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 17, 2005

Mrs. Emerson (for herself and Mr. Berry) 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 regulation 
 of ephedrine alkaloids, including ephedrine and 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 ``Ephedrine Alkaloids Regulation Act 
of 2005''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds as follows:
            (1) The United States faces increasing danger related to 
        methamphetamine trafficking, production, and abuse.
            (2) Methamphetamine is a highly addictive drug that can be 
        readily made from products and precursors purchased from retail 
        stores. Step-by-step recipes can easily be found on the 
        Internet, which is a factor in the dramatic increase in the 
        number of clandestine labs in recent years.
            (3) Methamphetamine-producing clandestine laboratories have 
        been identified by the Drug Enforcement Administration as a 
        significant threat to the Nation's public health and safety. 
        The manufacture of methamphetamine produces highly toxic and 
        unstable chemicals that threaten the well-being of first 
        responders, law enforcement officers, and the community at-
        large.
            (4) Methamphetamine production, once exclusively found in 
        West Coast States, has rapidly moved eastward to the Midwest. 
        Production can now be found on the East Coast, in the States of 
        New York and Florida.
            (5) Methamphetamine abuse is indiscriminate of age, 
        socioeconomic level, or race.
            (6) Pseudoephedrine is a necessary precursor chemical in 
        the production of methamphetamine, which prompted the Drug 
        Enforcement Administration to initiate investigations regarding 
        the chemical's sale and distribution.
            (7) Efforts to reduce access to pseudoephedrine by 
        methamphetamine producers, such as blister packaging and sales 
        thresholds, have not been effective deterrents, and 
        pseudoephedrine tablets remain pervasive in the illicit 
        production of methamphetamine.
            (8) Pseudoephedrine in liquid gel and liquid forms have not 
        been found to be used in methamphetamine production.
            (9) As States and communities attempt to combat and control 
        methamphetamine through restricting the sale of pseudoephedrine 
        products, it is incumbent upon the Congress to develop a 
        uniform standard for the distribution of pseudoephedrine in 
        tablet form.

SEC. 2. CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES; ADDITION OF EPHEDRINE ALKALOIDS AND 
              PHENYLPROPANOLAMINE TO SCHEDULE V.

    (a) In General.--Effective upon the expiration of 30 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, ephedrine alkaloids (including 
ephedrine and pseudoephedrine) and phenylpropanolamine, and their 
salts, optical isomers, and salts of optical isomers, whether alone or 
in combination with other substances, shall be considered to be listed 
in schedule V of the schedules of controlled substances established 
under section 202(c) of the Controlled Substances Act, subject to 
subsection (b) and subject to the authority of the Attorney General 
under such Act to designate substances as controlled substances or 
listed chemicals. The Attorney General shall amend part 1308 of title 
21, Code of Federal Regulations, accordingly.
    (b) Certain Forms of Pseudoephedrine and Phenylpropanolamine.--
Subject to the authority of the Attorney General under the Controlled 
Substances Act to designate substances as controlled substances or 
listed chemicals--
            (1) subsection (a) does not apply to pseudoephedrine or 
        phenylpropanolamine when contained in a drug that is in liquid 
        or gel form and is marketed or distributed lawfully in the 
        United States under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act; 
        and
            (2) pseudoephedrine or phenylpropanolamine when so 
        contained shall be considered a listed chemical.

SEC. 3. REGULATION OF TRANSACTIONS INVOLVING LISTED CHEMICALS; 
              EXEMPTION FOR CERTAIN DOSAGE FORMS AND QUANTITIES OF 
              PSEUDOEPHEDRINE OR PHENYLPROPANOLAMINE.

    (a) Definition of Regulated Transaction.--Section 102(39)(A)(iv) of 
the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802(39)(A)(iv)) is amended--
            (1) in the matter preceding subclause (I), by striking 
        ``unless--'' and inserting ``unless, subject to clause (v)--''; 
        and
            (2) in subclause (II)--
                    (A) by inserting ``in liquid or gel form'' after 
                ``containing pseudoephedrine or phenylpropanolamine 
                products''; and
                    (B) by striking ``shall be 9 grams of 
                pseudoephedrine or 9 grams of phenylpropanolamine'' and 
                inserting ``shall be any quantity in excess of 9.0 
                grams of pseudoephedrine or 9.0 grams of 
                phenylpropanolamine''.
    (b) Definition of Ordinary Over-the-Counter Pseudoephedrine or 
Phenylpropanolamine Product.--Section 102 of the Controlled Substances 
Act (21 U.S.C. 802) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (39)(A)(iv)(I)(aa), by striking ``, except 
        that'' and all that follows through ``1996)''; and
            (2)(A) by striking paragraph (45); and
            (B) by redesignating paragraph (46) as paragraph (45).
    (c) Chemical Mixtures not Easily Used in Illicit Production.--
Section 102(39)(A)(v) of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 
802(39)(A)(v)) is amended by inserting after ``chemical mixture'' the 
following: ``(including a mixture that may be marketed or distributed 
lawfully in the United States under the Federal Food, Drug, and 
Cosmetic Act)''.
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