Montana Code 50-32-501. Restricted possession, purchase, or other transfer of ephedrine or pseudoephedrine — exceptions — penalties
50-32-501. Restricted possession, purchase, or other transfer of ephedrine or pseudoephedrine — exceptions — penalties. (1) Except as provided in subsection (2), a person may not purchase, receive, or otherwise acquire more than 9 grams within any 30-day period or more than 3.6 grams per day of any product, mixture, or preparation containing any detectable quantity of ephedrine or pseudoephedrine, any of their salts or optical isomers, or salts of their optical isomers.
Terms Used In Montana Code 50-32-501
- Board: means the board of pharmacy provided for in 2-15-1733. See Montana Code 50-32-101
- Distributor: means a person who distributes. See Montana Code 50-32-101
- Knowingly: means only a knowledge that the facts exist which bring the act or omission within the provisions of this code. See Montana Code 1-1-204
- Person: means an individual, corporation, government or governmental subdivision or agency, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, association, or any other legal entity. See Montana Code 50-32-101
- Prescription: means an order given individually for the person for whom prescribed, directly from the prescriber to the furnisher or indirectly to the furnisher, by means of an order signed by the prescriber and bearing the name and address of the prescriber, the prescriber's license classification, the name of the patient, the name and quantity of the drug or drugs prescribed, the directions for use, and the date of its issue. See Montana Code 50-32-101
(2)This section does not apply to any quantity of a product, mixture, or preparation dispensed pursuant to a valid prescription or as provided in 50-32-502.
(3)Possession of more than 9 grams of a drug product containing any detectable quantity of ephedrine or pseudoephedrine, their salts or optical isomers, or salts of their optical isomers constitutes a rebuttable presumption of the intent to use the product as a precursor to methamphetamine or another controlled substance.
(4)The rebuttable presumption in subsection (3) does not apply to:
(a)a retail distributor of drug products;
(b)a wholesale drug distributor, or its agents, licensed by the board of pharmacy;
(c)a manufacturer of drug products or its agents;
(d)a pharmacist licensed by the board of pharmacy; or
(e)a licensed health care professional possessing the drug products in the course of carrying out the profession.
(5)A person who knowingly or negligently violates any provision of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished by a fine of not less than $100 or more than $500 and by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than 1 year.