Florida Methamphetamine Precursor Electronic Monitoring System
Enforcement date January 1, 2011
History
Methamphetamine is an illegal, highly addictive and dangerous drug that can be manufactured from over-the-counter products containing ephedrine and related compounds.
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Injury due to explosion of highly combustible products |
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Exposure to highly toxic waste |
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Environmental contamination and costly cleanup |
In 2006, the Federal Government passed the Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act of 2005 to regulate retail over-the-counter sales of ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, and phenylpropanolamine. The law limits the quantity of these products that can be sold to an individual on a daily basis and during a 30-day period, and requires:
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Retailers to place ephedrine products away from direct customer access
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Retailers to maintain a paper or electronic logbook to record sales of these products, and make the log available to law enforcement upon request
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Purchasers to present a valid ID and be at least 18 years of age
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The Federal law was successful in helping to reduce the number of methamphetamine laboratories in the State of Florida, but manufacture and sale of methamphetamine remain problematic in our state.
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Federal penalties for non-compliance are not enforceable by local law enforcement
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Without a centralized system to collect sales and purchase data, enforcement of the federal law is impractical, requiring law enforcement to go from store to store to gather data.
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The 2010 Florida Legislature passed Florida Statute 893.1495 to control the sale and purchase of ephedrine and related compounds. The bill:
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Establishes legal limits for the sale and purchase of these products
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Allows retailers that do not have a computer with internet access and do not sell more than 72 grams of ephedrine in a 30-day period to Request an Exemption from reporting requirements
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