II 111th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 641 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES March 19, 2009 Mr. Grassley introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To amend the Controlled Substances Act to prevent the abuse of dehydroepiandrosterone, and for other purposes.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Dehydroepiandrosterone Abuse Reduction Act of 2009.

2.

Dehydroepiandrosterone

(a)

In general

Part D of title II of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 841 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

424.

Civil penalties for certain dehydroepiandrosterone sales

(a)

In general

(1)

Sale

(A)

In general

Except as provided in paragraph (2), it shall be unlawful for any person to knowingly sell, cause another to sell, or conspire to sell a product containing dehydroepiandrosterone to an individual under the age of 18 years, including any such sale using the Internet. (B)

Failure to check identification

If a person fails to request identification from an individual under the age of 18 years and sells a product containing dehydroepiandrosterone to that individual, that person shall be deemed to have known that the individual was under the age of 18 years. (C)

Affirmative defense

It shall be an affirmative defense to an alleged violation of subparagraph (A) that the person selling a product containing dehydroepiandrosterone examined the purchaser's identification and, based on that examination, that person reasonably concluded that the identification was valid and indicated that the purchaser was not less than 18 years of age. (2)

Exception

This section shall not apply to any sale made pursuant to a validly issued prescription. (b)

Fines

(1)

In general

The Attorney General may impose a civil penalty on a person for violating subsection (a)(1)(A), including a violation of that subsection committed by an employee or agent of such person. (2)

Maximum amount

A civil penalty imposed under paragraph (1) shall be— (A)not more than $1,000 for the first violation of subsection (a)(1)(A) by a person; (B)not more than $2,000 for the second violation of subsection (a)(1)(A) by a person; and (C)not more than $5,000 for the third violation, or a subsequent violation, of subsection (a)(1)(A) by a person. (3)

Number of violations

If a person makes sales of dehydroepiandrosterone at more than 1 location or 1 Internet site, for purposes of determining the number of violations by that person under this subsection each individual location or Internet site operated by that person shall be considered a separate person. (c)

Definition of identification card

In this section, the term identification card means an identification card that— (1)includes a photograph and the date of birth of the individual; (2)is issued by a State or the Federal Government; and (3)is considered acceptable for purposes of sections 274a.2(b)(1)(v)(A) and 274a.2(b)(1)(v)(B)(1) of title 8, Code of Federal Regulations (as in effect on or after the date of the enactment of the Dehydroepiandrosterone Abuse Reduction Act of 2009).

. (b)

Regulations

(1)

Internet sales

Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General of the United States shall promulgate regulations for Internet sales of products containing dehydroepiandrosterone to ensure compliance with section 424 of the Controlled Substances Act, as added by this Act. (2)

Civil penalties

(A)

In general

Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General of the United States shall promulgate regulations to carry out section 424 of the Controlled Substances Act, as added by this Act. (B)

Contents

The regulations promulgated under subparagraph (A) shall— (i)provide for a range of fines for a retailer, based on whether the retailer or an employee or agent of that retailer has committed prior violations of section 424(a) of the Controlled Substances Act, as added by this Act; and (ii)require consideration of whether a fine to be imposed on a retailer should be reduced or eliminated based on— (I)the establishment and administration of an effective employee training program by a retailer relating to this Act and the amendments made by this Act; or (II)other actions taken by a retailer to ensure compliance with this Act and the amendments made by this Act. (3)

Definition of retailer

In this subsection, the term retailer means a grocery store, general merchandise store, drug store, convenience store, or other entity or person whose activities as a distributor relating to products containing dehydroepiandrosterone are limited almost exclusively to sales 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. (c)

Technical and conforming amendment

The table of contents for the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970 (Public Law 91–513; 84 Stat. 1236) is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 423 the following: Sec. 424. Dehydroepiandrosterone sales. . (d)

Effect on State law

This section and the amendments made by this section shall supersede any provision of the law of any State relating to the sale of dehydroepiandrosterone.