§971. Prohibited acts; all schedules

A.(1) It shall be unlawful for any person:

(a) Who is subject to the requirements of this part to distribute or dispense a controlled dangerous substance in violation of this part; or

(b) Who is a licensee to manufacture, distribute, or dispense a controlled dangerous substance to another licensee or other authorized person not authorized by his license; or

(c) To omit, remove, alter, or obliterate a symbol required by the Uniform Controlled Dangerous Substances Law; or

(d) To refuse or fail to make, keep, or furnish any record, notification, order form, statement, invoice or information required under this part; or

(e) To refuse entry into any premise for inspection as authorized by this part; or

(f) To keep or maintain any store, shop, warehouse, dwelling house, building, vehicle, boat, aircraft, or any place whatever, which is frequented by persons using controlled dangerous substances in violation of this part for the purpose of using such substances, or which is used for the keeping or selling of the same in violation of this part.

(2) Any person who violates this subsection shall be fined not more than fifteen thousand dollars. Such proceeding shall be independent, and not in lieu of, other proceedings under this part or any other law of this state. If the violation is prosecuted by a bill of information or an indictment which alleges that the violation was committed knowingly or intentionally, such person, upon conviction, shall be imprisoned for not more than six months; and, in addition, may be sentenced to pay a fine of not more than five hundred dollars.

B.(1) It shall be unlawful for any person knowingly or intentionally:

(a) To use in the course of the manufacture or distribution of a controlled dangerous substance a license number which is fictitious, revoked, suspended or issued to another person; or

(b) To acquire or obtain possession of a controlled dangerous substance by misrepresentation, fraud, forgery, deception or subterfuge; or

(c) To furnish false or fraudulent material, information in any application, report or other document required to be kept by this part.

(d) To make, distribute, or possess any punch, die, plate, stone or other thing designed to print, imprint, or reproduce the trademark, trade name, or other identifying mark, imprint, or device of another of any likeness of any of the foregoing upon any drug or container or labeling thereof so as to render such drug a counterfeit controlled dangerous substance; or

(e) To alter any controlled dangerous substance obtained by prescription without prior approval of the department; or

(f) To alter any prescription for a controlled dangerous substance; provided that this shall not apply to the person issuing the original prescription or the pharmacist pursuant to instructions from the physician; or

(g) To obtain or attempt to obtain a prescription or prescription blank form from a doctor, dentist, or veterinarian for a controlled dangerous substance and/or legend drug by fraud, theft, misrepresentation, deception or subterfuge.

(h) To possess a prescription for a controlled dangerous substance and/or legend drugs without the express consent of the party for whom such prescription was written. For the purposes hereof a legend drug is any drug or drug product bearing on the label of the manufacturer or distributor as required by the Federal Food and Drug Administration the statement "Caution: Federal law prohibits dispensing without prescription."

(i) To obtain or seek to obtain any controlled dangerous substance or a prescription for a controlled dangerous substance from a health care practitioner, while being supplied with any controlled dangerous substance or a prescription for any controlled dangerous substance by another health care practitioner, without disclosing the fact of the existing prescription to the practitioner from whom the subsequent prescription for a controlled dangerous substance is sought. Failure of a practitioner to request the disclosure is not a violation of this Subsection by the practitioner. The disclosure shall include the name of the controlled dangerous substance, the date of the prescription, the amount of the controlled substance prescribed, and the number of refills if any. The disclosure shall be made in writing by the person obtaining or seeking to obtain the controlled dangerous substance and shall be made a part of the person's medical record by the health care practitioner. As used in this Section, the term "existing" shall mean the period of time within which the prescription was prescribed to be taken.

(2) Any person who violates this subsection shall be imprisoned, with or without hard labor, for not more than five years; and, in addition may be sentenced to pay a fine of not more than five thousand dollars.

C.(1) It shall be unlawful for a person, including a physician, dentist, podiatrist, or veterinarian, to prescribe, dispense, or administer legally controlled substances beyond his respective prescribing authority or for a purpose other than accepted medical treatment of a disease, condition, or illness.

(2) It shall be unlawful for a pharmacist to dispense legally controlled substances beyond his dispensing authority.

(3) Any person who violates this Subsection shall be subject to the penalties as established for the controlled dangerous substance and the particular criminal act committed in R.S. 40:966 through 967.

D. Every practitioner, as defined in R.S. 40:961, may, if he has a good faith belief that a crime has been committed on the premises, notify local law enforcement authorities when it is believed that an individual has obtained a fraudulent prescription for any controlled dangerous substance or any person has attempted to obtain a fraudulent prescription for any controlled dangerous substance.

E. Every pharmacy in which a controlled dangerous substance is physically obtained by a patient or a patient's agent shall require every person purchasing, receiving, or otherwise acquiring any controlled dangerous substance to produce a photo identification card, unless the patient or the patient's agent is known to the pharmacist. The person purchasing, receiving, or otherwise acquiring the controlled dangerous substance prescription does not have to be the specific patient to whom the prescription is issued.

Added by Acts 1972, No. 634, §1. Amended by Acts 1973, No. 207, §8; Acts 1975, No. 613, §§1, 2; Acts 1975, No. 700, §2; Acts 1978, No. 786, §5, eff. July 17, 1978; Acts 1988, No. 984, §1; Acts 2006, No. 600, §1; Acts 2007, No. 287, §1.