Current through Reg. 50, No. 249, December 24, 2024
(1) A pharmacy or retailer conducting
business within the state of Florida who engages in the sale of any
nonprescription compound, mixture, or preparation containing ephedrine or
related compounds shall be required to participate in the Methamphetamine
Precursor Electronic Monitoring System.
(2) Definitions:
(a) "Department" means the Florida Department
of Law Enforcement (FDLE).
(b)
"Exemption" refers to the two part criteria outlined in section
893.1495(5)(b),
F.S., which states; "a pharmacy or retailer may request an exemption from
electronic reporting from the Department of Law Enforcement if the pharmacy or
retailer lacks the technology to access the electronic recordkeeping system and
such pharmacy or retailer maintains a sales volume of less than 72 grams of
ephedrine or related compounds in a 30 day period."
(c) "National Precursor Log Exchange" (NPLEx)
refers to the FDLE approved Methamphetamine Precursor Electronic Monitoring
System.
(d) "Retailer" refers to
any person, entity, or business including a pharmacy, within the state of
Florida, who engages in the sale of nonprescription compounds, mixtures, or
preparations containing ephedrine or related compounds, ephedrine or related
products that does not meet the criteria in section
893.1495(5)(b)
or 893.1495(10),
F.S.
(3) Each retailer
who engages in the sale of any nonprescription compound, mixture, or
preparation containing ephedrine or related compounds shall contact the
Department to enroll in NPLEx. Requests for information, enrollment, and
training can be accomplished online at http://www.fdle.state.fl.us (look for
Meth Monitoring System), by email to MethLaw@fdle.state.fl.us or by telephone,
contact the NPLEx administrator at (850)410-8300, or in writing to FDLE NPLEx
Administrator, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, P.O. Box 1489,
Tallahassee, FL 32302-1489.
(4)
Exemptions. The Department shall grant an exemption from electronic reporting
to a retailer, upon request, if the retailer lacks the technology to access
NPLEx, and the retailer maintains a sales volume of less than 72 grams of
ephedrine or related compounds in a 30 day period.
(a) The "technology necessary to access
NPLEx" requires a computer with an Internet connection that is available in any
sales area within the retailer location.
(b) The "30 day period" for the purpose of
determining an exemption shall be calculated from the 1st day of each calendar
month.
(c) The retailer's request
for an exemption shall be made by completing FDLE Exemption form, FDLE
I&FS-012, created 08/16/2010, and hereby incorporated by reference. The
form is available online or can be obtained by contacting the Department. See
subsection (3) above for contact information.
(d) The Exemption form must be completed in
its entirety, signed by the retailer or retail manager claiming the exemption,
and notarized by a notary public.
(e) The Department will review the request
for exemption, and will grant or deny the request within 14 business days.
1. If the retailer disagrees with the
Department's decision, the retailer may request, in writing, reconsideration of
the denial for exemption based upon mistake of fact or law.
2. The request must state the basis for
reconsideration and provide any documentation that is available to support the
request.
3. The Department will
provide a written response to the request for
reconsideration.
(f) A
retailer must maintain the exemption letter within its place of business, and
make it available upon request by any law enforcement officer.
(g) A retailer granted an exemption in this
section must notify the Department, in writing, and within 5 days of the
completion of the reporting period, of any change in its exemption status
regarding the sales volume of ephedrine or related compounds within the 30 day
reporting period, or of obtaining the technology to access
NPLEx.
(5) The Department
will provide an FDLE NPLEx Administrator:
(a)
Who will be responsible for reviewing, approving or denying and responding to
requests for exemption from participation in NPLEx, and
(b) Who will be responsible for communication
between the Department and the 3rd party administrator selected to administer
NPLEx on all matters to include but not be limited to; compliance with system
requirements, system enhancements, and ensuring the availability of system
training for retailers and law enforcement who need access to the system.
Contact information is provided in subsection (3)
above.
(6)
Retailer's Duty to Maintain Logbook.
(a)
Should a transaction occur during a period in which NPLEx is inoperable due to
states of declared emergency, natural disaster, or other acts of God, the
retailer must:
(b) Maintain a
written log capturing all required information and enter the transaction data
into NPLEx within seventy-two (72) hours of the system becoming
operational.
(c) Should a retailer
be granted an exemption from participation in NPLEx, it is still the duty of
any retailer within the state of Florida to maintain a logbook in compliance
with the federal Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act of 2005, as specified in
Title VII of the USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005
(Public Law
109-177), and section
893.1495, F.S.
(2009).
(7) Law
Enforcement Access to NPLEx.
(a) Information
contained within NPLEx is available to law enforcement officers, designated by
their agency, for law enforcement purposes, pursuant to section
893.1495, F.S. (2009).
(b) A law enforcement agency may request
access to NPLEx. Requests for information, participation, and training can be
accomplished online at http://www.fdle.state.fl.us (look for Meth Monitoring
System), by email to MethLaw@fdle.state.fl.us or by telephone, contact the
NPLEx administrator at (850)410-8300, or in writing to FDLE NPLEx
Administrator, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, P.O. Box 1489,
Tallahassee, FL 32302-1489.
(c)
Each law enforcement agency requesting access to the system will identify a
single point of contact to be referred to as an "Agency Account Manager, " who
will be responsible for communicating new account requests and closing of
account requests for its law enforcement
officers.
Rulemaking Authority
893.1495(15),
943.03(4) FS.
Law Implemented 893.1495
FS.
New 1-6-11.
