HB363 Summary

• Restricts sale of ephedrine and pseudoephedrine to licensed pharmacies only; products must be sold by pharmacists or pharmacy technicians, with 30mg+ tablets sold only in blister packages and stored behind counters or in locked cases.

• Establishes daily (3.6 grams) and monthly (7.5 grams) purchase limits for ephedrine/pseudoephedrine products; requires electronic sales tracking system to monitor purchases and prevent "smurfing" (purchasing multiple quantities to circumvent limits).

• Creates electronic drug offender tracking system requiring the Alabama Criminal Justice Information Center to maintain a real-time database of all drug-related convictions; drug offenders remain in system for 7 years (possession/paraphernalia) or 10 years (manufacture/distribution/trafficking).

• Enhances criminal penalties for drug paraphernalia violations and precursor chemical offenses; makes using drug paraphernalia to manufacture controlled substances a Class C felony (Class B if firearm present); increases penalties for ephedrine/pseudoephedrine sale violations.

• Revises Alabama Drug Abuse Task Force membership to include expanded representation from law enforcement, prosecutors, education, pharmacy, and other agencies; requires subcommittee to report on effectiveness of electronic tracking system and efforts to limit ephedrine availability for methamphetamine manufacturing.