3.5Failure to Report Sale of Ephedrine or Pseudoephedrine Product
“Before completing a sale under [MCL 333.17766f88], a retailer shall electronically submit the required information to the national precursor log exchange (NPLEx) administered by the national association of drug diversion investigators (NADDI). A retailer shall not be required to pay a fee for using the NPLEx system.” MCL 333.7340a(1).
Violation of MCL 333.7340a is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than $500. MCL 333.7340a(6).
However, “absent a direct and proximate cause” of damages, a person is immune from civil liability arising out of his or her “failure to comply with the [statute’s] record-keeping or sales verification requirements[.]” MCL 333.7340a(5).
MCL 333.7340a(1) requires retailers to electronically track the sale of nonprescription products containing ephedrine and pseudoephedrine through NPLEx. If there is a mechanical or electronic failure of the tracking system, the retailer must maintain a written log or alternative electronic record-keeping mechanism until compliance with the electronic sales tracking requirement is possible. MCL 333.7340a(2).
The electronic system must be able to generate a “stop sale alert notifying the retailer that the person is prohibited from purchasing a nonprescription product containing ephedrine or pseudoephedrine due to a conviction reported under the methamphetamine abuse reporting act or that completing the sale will result in the seller’s or purchaser’s violating the quantity limits set forth in [MCL 333.17766f].” MCL 333.7340a(4). “Except as otherwise provided by law, the seller shall not complete the sale if the system generates a stop sale alert.” Id. However, the dispenser may override the system if he or she “has a reasonable fear of imminent bodily harm if the dispenser does not complete a sale.” Id.
2.The Methamphetamine Abuse Reporting Act
Under the Methamphetamine Abuse Reporting Act, MCL 28.121 et seq., the department must notify NADDI of convictions upon notification by a court89 that an individual has been convicted of a methamphetamine-related offense. It is unclear whether violation of MCL 333.7340a constitutes a methamphetamine-related offense because it does not directly reference methamphetamine but does reference ephedrine, an ingredient in methamphetamine. See MCL 28.122(b) (defining methamphetamine-related offense as a violation of Article 7 of the PHC that involves methamphetamine). For more information on the Methamphetamine Abuse Reporting Act, see Section 1.6.
88.MCL 333.17766f governs the possession and sale of products containing ephedrine or pseudoephedrine. For more information on MCL 333.17766f, see Section 5.16.
89. See e.g., MCL 333.7340c(3), as added by 2014 PA 217, effective January 1, 2015, which requires the court to report to the state police when a person is convicted under MCL 333.7340c (soliciting another person to purchase/obtain ephedrine or pseudoephedrine knowing that it is to be used in the illegal manufacture of methamphetamine).