BILL NUMBER: AB 521	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Diaz

                        FEBRUARY 18, 2003

   An act to add Section 4074.5 to the Business and Professions Code,
relating to pharmacies.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 521, as introduced, Diaz.  Prescription drug warnings.
   Existing law, the Pharmacy Law, requires a pharmacist to inform a
patient, orally or in writing, of certain information about the
harmful effects of a prescription drug taken in combination with
alcohol.  Existing law makes the violation of the Pharmacy Law a
crime.
   This bill would additionally require a pharmacist to include a
large-print informational insert with each drug dispensed by
prescription informing the patient when the drug poses a substantial
risk of harm if taken in combination with alcohol or other
medication.
   Because a violation of this requirement would be punishable as a
crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
  The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
   This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
   Vote:  majority.  Appropriation:  no.  Fiscal committee:  yes.
State-mandated local program:  yes.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:


  SECTION 1.  Section 4074.5 is added to the Business and Professions
Code, to read:
   4074.5.  A pharmacist shall include a large-print informational
insert with each drug dispersed by prescription informing the patient
when the drug poses a substantial risk of harm to the person
consuming the drug if taken in combination with alcohol or other
medications, including both prescription and nonprescription drugs.
  SEC. 2.  No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the
Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the
meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.