H.B. 276 Enrolled

CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES CONTAINER AMENDMENTS
1997 GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Sponsor: Patrice Arent
AN ACT RELATING TO OCCUPATIONS AND PROFESSIONS; PROVIDING FOR A
DEFENSE TO A PROSECUTION FOR REMOVING A CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE
PRESCRIPTION FROM ITS ORIGINAL CONTAINER; AND MAKING TECHNICAL
CORRECTIONS.
This act affects sections of Utah Code Annotated 1953 as follows:
AMENDS:
58-37-7, as last amended by Chapter 23, Laws of Utah 1986
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1. Section 58-37-7 is amended to read:
58-37-7. Labeling and packaging controlled substance.
(1) [No] A person licensed pursuant to this act [shall] may not distribute a controlled
substance unless it is packaged and labeled in compliance with the requirements of Section 305
of the Federal Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970.
(2) No person except a pharmacist for the purpose of filling a prescription shall alter,
deface, or remove any label affixed by the manufacturer.
(3) Whenever a pharmacist sells or dispenses any controlled substance on a prescription
issued by a practitioner, he shall affix to the container in which the substance is sold or dispensed:
(a) a label showing his own name, address, and registry number, or the name, address, and
registry number of the pharmacist or pharmacy owner for whom he is lawfully acting;
(b) the prescription number, the name of the patient, or if the patient is an animal, the name
of the owner of the animal and the species of the animal;
(c) the name of the practitioner by whom the prescription was written;
(d) any directions stated on the prescription; and
(e) any directions required by rules and regulations promulgated by the department.
[No] (4) A person [shall] may not alter the face or remove any label so long as any of the

original contents remain.
[(4)] (5) (a) An individual to whom or for whose use any controlled substance has been
prescribed, sold, or dispensed by a practitioner and the owner of any animal for which any controlled
substance has been prescribed, sold, or dispensed by a veterinarian may lawfully possess it only in
the container in which it was delivered to him by the person selling or dispensing it.
(b) It is a defense to a prosecution under this subsection that the person being prosecuted
produces in court a valid prescription for the controlled substance or the original container with the
label attached.

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