(a) It shall be unlawful for any person:

(1) Who is subject to the requirements of §§ 44-53-280 to 44-53-360 to distribute or dispense a controlled substance in violation of § 44-53-360;

Terms Used In South Carolina Code 44-53-380

  • Controlled substance: means a drug, substance, or immediate precursor in Schedules I through V in Sections 44-53-190, 44-53-210, 44-53-230, 44-53-250, and 44-53-270. See South Carolina Code 44-53-110
  • Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • Dispense: means to deliver a controlled substance to an ultimate user or research subject by or pursuant to the lawful order of a practitioner, including the prescribing, administering, packaging, labeling, or compounding necessary to prepare the substance for the delivery. See South Carolina Code 44-53-110
  • Distribute: means to deliver (other than by administering or dispensing) a controlled substance. See South Carolina Code 44-53-110
  • Indictment: The formal charge issued by a grand jury stating that there is enough evidence that the defendant committed the crime to justify having a trial; it is used primarily for felonies.
  • Manufacture: means the production, preparation, propagation, compounding, conversion, or processing of a controlled substance, either directly or indirectly by extraction from substances of natural origin, or independently by means of chemical synthesis, or by a combination of extraction and chemical synthesis, and includes any packaging or repackaging of the substance or labeling or relabeling of its container, except that this term does not include the preparation or compounding of a controlled substance by an individual for his own use or the preparation, compounding, packaging, or labeling of a controlled substance:

    (a) by a practitioner as an incident to his administering or dispensing of a controlled substance in the course of his professional practice; or

    (b) by a practitioner, or by his authorized agent under his supervision, for the purpose of, or as an incident to, research, teaching, or chemical analysis and not for sale. See South Carolina Code 44-53-110

(2) Who is a registrant to manufacture, distribute, or dispense a controlled substance not authorized by his registration to another registrant or other authorized person;

(3) To omit, remove, alter, or obliterate a symbol required by the Federal Controlled Substances Act or this article;

(4) To refuse or fail to make, keep, or furnish any record, notification, order form, statement, invoice, or information required under this article;

(5) To refuse any entry into any premises or inspection authorized by this article;

(6) Knowingly to keep or maintain any store, shop, warehouse, dwelling house, building, vehicle, boat, aircraft, or any place whatever, which is resorted to by persons using controlled substances in violation of this article for the purpose of using such substances, or which is used for the keeping or selling of the same in violation of this article; or

(7) Who is subject to the requirements of this article to fail to register as provided in § 44-53-280 to manufacture, distribute, or dispense controlled substances prior to his engaging in such manufacturing, distribution, or dispensing.

(b) Any person who violates this section is punishable by a civil fine of not more than one thousand dollars; provided, that, if the violation is prosecuted by an information or indictment which alleges that the violation was committed knowingly or intentionally, and the trier of fact specifically finds that the violation was committed knowingly or intentionally, such person shall be deemed guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, shall be imprisoned for not more than five years, or fined not more than ten thousand dollars, except that if such person is a corporation it shall be subject to a civil penalty of not more than one hundred thousand dollars. Imposition of a civil penalty pursuant to this item shall not give rise to any disability or legal disadvantage based on conviction for a criminal offense.