(a)  An official written order for any controlled substance shall be signed in duplicate by the person giving the order or by his or her duly authorized agent. The original shall be presented to the person who sells or distributes the controlled substances named in it. In the event of the acceptance of the order by that person, each party to the transaction shall preserve his or her copy of the order for a period of two (2) years in such a way as to be readily accessible for inspection by any public officer or employee engaged in the enforcement of this chapter. It shall be deemed a compliance with this section if the parties to the transaction have complied with the federal law respecting the requirements governing the use of order forms.

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Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 21-28-3.11

  • Agent: means an authorized person who acts on behalf of, or at the direction of, a manufacturer, wholesaler, distributor, or dispenser; except that these terms do not include a common or contract carrier or warehouse operator when acting in the usual and lawful course of the carrier's or warehouse operator's business. See Rhode Island General Laws 21-28-1.02
  • Controlled substance: means a drug, substance, immediate precursor, or synthetic drug in schedules I — V of this chapter. See Rhode Island General Laws 21-28-1.02
  • Federal law: means the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970, (84 stat. See Rhode Island General Laws 21-28-1.02
  • Official written order: means an order written on a form provided for that purpose by the Drug Enforcement Administration under any laws of the United States making provision for an official form, if order forms are authorized and required by federal law, and if no order form is provided, then on an official form provided for that purpose by the director of health. See Rhode Island General Laws 21-28-1.02
  • Person: means any corporation, association, partnership, or one or more individuals. See Rhode Island General Laws 21-28-1.02

(b)  Nothing in this section shall be construed as prohibiting the person giving the order, or his or her duly authorized agent, from presenting said order to the person who sells or distributes the controlled substances named in it by use of facsimile transmission.

History of Section.
P.L. 1974, ch. 183, § 2; P.L. 2014, ch. 481, § 1; P.L. 2014, ch. 532, § 1.