Prescription drugs: collection and distribution program.

Existing law authorizes a county to establish a repository and distribution program under which a pharmacy, including a pharmacy that is owned by, or contracts with, the county, may distribute surplus unused medications, as defined, to persons in need of financial assistance to ensure access to necessary pharmaceutical therapies. Under existing law, only medication that is donated in unopened, tamper-evident packaging or modified unit dose containers that meet the United States Pharmacopoeia standards, and that includes lot numbers and expiration dates, is eligible for donation to the program. Existing law prohibits medication that does not meet the requirements for donation and distribution from being sold, dispensed, or otherwise transferred to any other entity. Existing law requires medication donated to the repository and distribution program to be maintained in the donated packaging units. This bill would authorize a pharmacy that exists solely to operate the repository and distribution program to repackage a reasonable quantity of donated medicine in anticipation of dispensing the medicine to its patient population. The bill would require a pharmacy that repackages medication to have repackaging policies and procedures in place for identifying and recalling medications, and to label the repackaged medicine with the earliest expiration date.