SECTIONS 4000-4013 - California Statutes

BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS CODE

SECTION 4000-4013

4000. This chapter constitutes, and may be cited as, the Pharmacy
Law.

4001. (a) There is in the Department of Consumer Affairs a
California State Board of Pharmacy in which the administration and
enforcement of this chapter is vested. The board consists of 13
members.
(b) The Governor shall appoint seven competent pharmacists who
reside in different parts of the state to serve as members of the
board. The Governor shall appoint four public members, and the Senate
Committee on Rules and the Speaker of the Assembly shall each
appoint a public member who shall not be a licensee of the board, any
other board under this division, or any board referred to in Section
1000 or 3600.
(c) At least five of the seven pharmacist appointees to the board
shall be pharmacists who are actively engaged in the practice of
pharmacy. Additionally, the membership of the board shall include at
least one pharmacist representative from each of the following
practice settings: an acute care hospital, an independent community
pharmacy, a chain community pharmacy, and a long-term health care or
skilled nursing facility. The pharmacist appointees shall also
include a pharmacist who is a member of a labor union that represents
pharmacists. For the purposes of this subdivision, a "chain
community pharmacy" means a chain of 75 or more stores in California
under the same ownership, and an "independent community pharmacy"
means a pharmacy owned by a person or entity who owns no more than
four pharmacies in California.
(d) Members of the board shall be appointed for a term of four
years. No person shall serve as a member of the board for more than
two consecutive terms. Each member shall hold office until the
appointment and qualification of his or her successor or until one
year shall have elapsed since the expiration of the term for which
the member was appointed, whichever first occurs. Vacancies occurring
shall be filled by appointment for the unexpired term.
(e) Each member of the board shall receive a per diem and expenses
as provided in Section 103.
(f) In accordance with Sections 101.1 and 473.1, this section
shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2013, and as of that
date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that is enacted
before January 1, 2013, deletes or extends that date. The repeal of
this section renders the board subject to the review required by
Division 1.2 (commencing with Section 473).

4001.1. Protection of the public shall be the highest priority for
the California State Board of Pharmacy in exercising its licensing,
regulatory, and disciplinary functions. Whenever the protection of
the public is inconsistent with other interests sought to be
promoted, the protection of the public shall be paramount.

4001.5. The Joint Committee on Boards, Commissions, and Consumer
Protection shall review the state's shortage of pharmacists and make
recommendations on a course of action to alleviate the shortage,
including, but not limited to, a review of the current California
pharmacist licensure examination.

4002. (a) The board shall elect a president, a vice president, and
a treasurer. The officers of the board shall be elected by a majority
of the membership of the board.
(b) The principal office of the board shall be located in
Sacramento. The board shall hold a meeting at least once in every
four months. Seven members of the board constitute a quorum.

4003. (a) The board, with the approval of the director, may appoint
a person exempt from civil service who shall be designated as an
executive officer and who shall exercise the powers and perform the
duties delegated by the board and vested in him or her by this
chapter. The executive officer may or may not be a member of the
board as the board may determine.
(b) The executive officer shall receive the compensation as
established by the board with the approval of the Director of
Finance. The executive officer shall also be entitled to travel and
other expenses necessary in the performance of his or her duties.
(c) The executive officer shall maintain and update in a timely
fashion records containing the names, titles, qualifications, and
places of business of all persons subject to this chapter.
(d) The executive officer shall give receipts for all money
received by him or her and pay it to the department, taking its
receipt therefor. Besides the duties required by this chapter, the
executive officer shall perform other duties pertaining to the office
as may be required of him or her by the board.
(e) In accordance with Sections 101.1 and 473.1, this section
shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2013, and as of that
date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that is enacted
before January 1, 2013, deletes or extends that date.

4004. No member of the board shall teach pharmacy in any of its
branches, unless he or she teaches as either one of the following:
(a) A teacher in a public capacity and in a college of pharmacy.
(b) A teacher of an approved continuing education class as, or
under the control of, an accredited provider of continuing education.

4005. (a) The board may adopt rules and regulations, not
inconsistent with the laws of this state, as may be necessary for the
protection of the public. Included therein shall be the right to
adopt rules and regulations as follows: for the proper and more
effective enforcement and administration of this chapter; pertaining
to the practice of pharmacy; relating to the sanitation of persons
and establishments licensed under this chapter; pertaining to
establishments wherein any drug or device is compounded, prepared,
furnished, or dispensed; providing for standards of minimum equipment
for establishments licensed under this chapter; pertaining to the
sale of drugs by or through any mechanical device; and relating to
pharmacy practice experience necessary for licensure as a pharmacist.
(b) Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter to the contrary,
the board may adopt regulations permitting the dispensing of drugs
or devices in emergency situations, and permitting dispensing of
drugs or devices pursuant to a prescription of a person licensed to
prescribe in a state other than California where the person, if
licensed in California in the same licensure classification would,
under California law, be permitted to prescribe drugs or devices and
where the pharmacist has first interviewed the patient to determine
the authenticity of the prescription.
(c) The adoption, amendment, or repeal by the board of these or
any other board rules or regulations shall be in accordance with
Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3
of Title 2 of the Government Code.

4006. The board may adopt regulations consistent with this chapter
and Section 111485 of the Health and Safety Code or regulations
adopted thereunder, limiting or restricting the furnishing of a
particular drug upon a finding that the otherwise unrestricted retail
sale of the drug pursuant to Section 4057 is dangerous to the public
health or safety.

4007. (a) Nothing in Section 4005 shall be construed as authorizing
the board to adopt rules of professional conduct relating to price
fixing or advertising of commodities.
(b) Nothing in Section 4005 shall be construed as authorizing the
board to adopt any rule or regulation that would require that a
pharmacist personally perform any function for which the education,
experience, training, and specialized knowledge of a pharmacist are
not reasonably required. However, rules and regulations may require
that the function be performed only under the effective supervision
of a pharmacist who shall have the overall responsibility for
supervising all activities that take place in the pharmacy.

4008. (a) Except as provided by Section 159.5, the board may employ
inspectors of pharmacy. The inspectors, whether the inspectors are
employed by the board or the department's Division of Investigation,
may inspect during business hours all pharmacies, wholesalers,
dispensaries, stores, or places where drugs or devices are
compounded, prepared, furnished, dispensed, or stored.
(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), a pharmacy inspector may
inspect or examine a physician's office or clinic that does not have
a permit under Section 4180 or 4190 only to the extent necessary to
determine compliance with and to enforce either Section 4080 or 4081.
(c) (1) (A) A pharmacy inspector employed by the board or in the
department's Division of Investigation shall have the authority, as a
public officer, to arrest, without warrant, any person whenever the
officer has reasonable cause to believe that the person to be
arrested has, in his or her presence, violated a provision of this
chapter or of Division 10 (commencing with Section 11000) of the
Health and Safety Code.
(B) If the violation is a felony, or if the arresting officer has
reasonable cause to believe that the person to be arrested has
violated any provision that is declared to be a felony, although no
felony has in fact been committed, he or she may make an arrest
although the violation or suspected violation did not occur in his or
her presence.
(2) In any case in which an arrest authorized by this subdivision
is made for an offense declared to be a misdemeanor, and the person
arrested does not demand to be taken before a magistrate, the
arresting inspector may, instead of taking the person before a
magistrate, follow the procedure prescribed by Chapter 5C (commencing
with Section 853.5) of Title 3 of Part 2 of the Penal Code. That
chapter shall thereafter apply with reference to any proceeding based
upon the issuance of a citation pursuant to this authority.
(d) There shall be no civil liability on the part of, and no cause
of action shall arise against, a person, acting pursuant to
subdivision (a) within the scope of his or her authority, for false
arrest or false imprisonment arising out of an arrest that is lawful,
or that the arresting officer, at the time of the arrest, had
reasonable cause to believe was lawful. An inspector shall not be
deemed an aggressor or lose his or her right to self-defense by the
use of reasonable force to effect the arrest, to prevent escape, or
to overcome resistance.
(e) Any inspector may serve all processes and notices throughout
the state.
(f) A pharmacy inspector employed by the board may enter a
facility licensed pursuant to subdivision (c) or (d) of Section 1250
of the Health and Safety Code to inspect an automated drug delivery
system operated pursuant to Section 4119 or 4119.1.

4009. The board may not adopt or amend any rule or regulation that
thereby would conflict with Section 1186 of the Labor Code.

4010. All authorized officers of the law, while investigating
violations of this chapter in performance of their official duties,
and any person working under their immediate direction, supervision,
or instruction are immune from prosecution under this chapter.

4011. The board shall administer and enforce this chapter and the
Uniform Controlled Substances Act (Division 10 (commencing with
Section 11000) of the Health and Safety Code).

4012. The board shall upon request furnish any person with a copy
of the laws or regulations relating to dangerous drugs, the
furnishing or possession of which is restricted by this article or by
further rules of the board.

4013. (a) Any facility licensed by the board shall join the board's
e-mail notification list within 60 days of obtaining a license or at
the time of license renewal.
(b) Any facility licensed by the board shall update its e-mail
address with the board's e-mail notification list within 30 days of a
change in the facility's e-mail address.
(c) An owner of two or more facilities licensed by the board may
comply with subdivisions (a) and (b) by subscribing a single e-mail
address to the board's e-mail notification list, where the owner
maintains an electronic notice system within all of its licensed
facilities that, upon receipt of an e-mail notification from the
board, immediately transmits electronic notice of the same
notification to all of its licensed facilities. If an owner chooses
to comply with this section by using such an electronic notice
system, the owner shall register the electronic notice system with
the board by July 1, 2011, or within 60 days of initial licensure,
whichever is later, informing the board of the single e-mail address
to be utilized by the owner, describing the electronic notice system,
and listing all facilities to which immediate notice will be
provided. The owner shall update its e-mail address with the board's
e-mail notification list within 30 days of any change in the owner's
e-mail address.
(d) This section shall become operative on July 1, 2010.