(a) It is unlawful for a person knowingly or intentionally to:

(1) distribute as a registrant a controlled substance classified in Schedules I or II, except pursuant to an order form as required by Section 44-53-350;

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

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

(4) furnish false or fraudulent material information in, or omit any material information from, any application, report, or other document required to be kept or filed under this article, or any record required to be kept by this article;

(5) 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 or any likeness of any of the foregoing upon any drug or container or labeling so as to render the drug a counterfeit substance;

(6) distribute or deliver a noncontrolled substance or an imitation controlled substance:

(A) with the expressed or implied representation that the substance is a narcotic or nonnarcotic controlled substance, or with the expressed or implied representation that the substance is of such nature or appearance that the recipient of the distribution or delivery will be able to dispose of the substance as a controlled substance;

(B) when the physical appearance of the finished product is substantially similar to a specific controlled substance, or if in a tablet or capsule dosage form as a finished product it is similar in color, shape, and size to any controlled substances' dosage form, or its finished dosage form has similar, but not necessarily identical, markings on each dosage unit as any controlled substances' dosage form, or if its finished dosage form container bears similar, but not necessarily identical, markings or printed material as any controlled substances which is commercially manufactured and commercially packaged by a manufacturer or repackager registered under the provisions of Title 21, Section 823 of the United States Code. In any prosecution for unlawful delivery of a noncontrolled substance, it is no defense that the accused believed the noncontrolled substance to actually be a controlled substance.

(b) A person who violates this section is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, must be imprisoned not more than five years, or fined not more than ten thousand dollars, or both. If such person is a corporation, it is subject to a civil penalty of not more than one hundred thousand dollars.

(c) The provisions of Section 44-53-390(a)(6) do not apply to any transaction in the ordinary course of professional practice of a practitioner registered to dispense controlled substances under this article, nor do they apply to a pharmacy acting in the normal course of business, or pursuant to the lawful order of a placebo prescription.

HISTORY: 1962 Code Section 32-1510.51; 1971 (57) 800; 1982 Act No. 427, Section 2; 1993 Act No. 184, Section 75.

Editor's Note

Section 44-53-160(B) authorizes the Department of Health and Environmental Control to add, delete, or reschedule a substance as a controlled substance when the General Assembly is not in session, and Section 44-53-160(C) requires the department to make such changes to conform to federal law. For a complete and accurate list of controlled substance schedules, please visit the department's website at http://www.scdhec.gov/Health/FHPF/DrugControlRegisterVerify/ControlledSubstanceSchedule/