Delaware General Assembly


CHAPTER 445

FORMERLY

SENATE BILL NO. 485

AS AMENDED BY SENATE AMENDMENT NO. 1

AND HOUSE AMENDMENT NOS. 2 AND 3

AN ACT TO AMEND SUBCHAPTER IV, CHAPTER 47, TITLE 16 OF THE DELAWARE CODE, RELATING TO POSSESSION OF PRESCRIPTION DRUGS.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE:

Section 1. Amend Subchapter IV, Chapter 47, Title 16 of the Delaware Code by adding a new §4754A to read as follows:

"§4754A. Possession of a prescription drug which is not a controlled substance

(a) It is unlawful for any person knowingly or intentionally to possess any drug for which a prescription is required, which is not a controlled substance or counterfeit controlled substance, with the following exceptions:

(1) the possession, and transfer to a licensed health care professional by a manufacturer's representative, of drugs manufactured by his employer;

(2) the possession, compounding and sale of such drug by a pharmacist in the lawful course of his professional activities;

(3) the possession and transfer of such drug by a physician or other licensed health care professional in the lawful course of his professional activities;

(4) the possession, use and consumption of such drug by a person who has received the drug from a physician or other licensed health care professional who is permitted by law to disperse or prescribe such drug.

Possession of a drug which Is not a controlled substance, in violation of this Section, is a Class B Misdemeanor.

(b) In any prosecution for 'Unlawful Possession of a Non-Controlled Prescription Drug', it is an affirmative defense that the drug was possessed or consumed within the residence of the defendant, that a member of the defendant's household possessed a valid prescription for said drug, that the possession or consumption by the defendant was for the purpose of treating an illness and that the drug in question was approved for use for the specific illness."

Approved July 23,1982.