84R812 GCB-F
	By: Price, Coleman, Naishtat, Zerwas,	H.B. No. 1212
	Bonnen of Galveston

	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
	AN ACT
	relating to the designation and regulation of abusable synthetic
	substances, the emergency scheduling of certain controlled
	substances, and the prosecution and punishment of certain offenses
	involving a controlled substance or controlled substance analogue.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Chapter 431, Health and Safety Code, is amended
	by adding Subchapter G-1 to read as follows:
	SUBCHAPTER G-1. ABUSABLE SYNTHETIC SUBSTANCES
	Sec. 431.171.  DESIGNATION OF CONSUMER COMMODITY AS ABUSABLE
	SYNTHETIC SUBSTANCE. (a) The commissioner may designate a consumer
	commodity as an abusable synthetic substance if the commissioner
	determines under Subsection (b) that the consumer commodity is
	likely an abusable synthetic substance and the importation,
	manufacture, distribution, and retail sale of the commodity poses a
	threat to public health.
	(b)  In determining whether a consumer commodity is an
	abusable synthetic substance, the commissioner shall consider:
	(1)  whether the commodity is sold at a price higher
	than similar commodities are ordinarily sold;
	(2)  any evidence of clandestine importation,
	manufacture, distribution, or diversion from legitimate channels;
	(3)  any evidence suggesting the product is intended
	for human consumption, regardless of any consumption prohibitions
	or warnings on the packaging of the commodity; and
	(4)  whether any of the following factors suggest the
	commodity is an abusable synthetic substance intended for illicit
	drug use:
	(A)  the appearance of the packaging of the
	commodity;
	(B)  oral or written statements or
	representations of a person who sells, manufactures, distributes,
	or imports the commodity;
	(C)  the methods by which the commodity is
	distributed; and
	(D)  the manner in which the commodity is sold to
	the public.
	Sec. 431.172.  APPLICABILITY OF CHAPTER TO ABUSABLE
	SYNTHETIC SUBSTANCE. A commodity classified as an abusable
	synthetic substance by the commissioner under Section 431.171 is
	subject to:
	(1)  the provisions of this chapter that apply to food
	and cosmetics, including provisions relating to adulteration,
	packaging, misbranding, and inspection; and
	(2)  all enforcement actions under Subchapter C.
	SECTION 2.  Sections 481.002(5) and (6), Health and Safety
	Code, are amended to read as follows:
	(5)  "Controlled substance" means a substance,
	including a drug, an adulterant, and a dilutant, listed in
	Schedules I through V or Penalty Group [Groups] 1, 1-A, [or] 2, 2-A,
	3, or [through] 4. The term includes the aggregate weight of any
	mixture, solution, or other substance containing a controlled
	substance.
	(6)  "Controlled substance analogue" means:
	(A)  a substance with a chemical structure
	substantially similar to the chemical structure of a controlled
	substance in Schedule I or II or Penalty Group 1, 1-A, [or] 2, or
	2-A; or
	(B)  a substance specifically designed to produce
	an effect substantially similar to, or greater than, the effect of a
	controlled substance in Schedule I or II or Penalty Group 1, 1-A,
	[or] 2, or 2-A.
	SECTION 3.  Subchapter B, Chapter 481, Health and Safety
	Code, is amended by adding Section 481.0355 to read as follows:
	Sec. 481.0355.  EMERGENCY SCHEDULING. (a) The commissioner
	may emergency schedule a substance as a controlled substance if the
	commissioner determines the action is necessary to avoid an
	imminent hazard to the public safety, the substance is not already
	scheduled, and no exemption or approval is in effect for the
	substance under Section 505, Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act
	(21 U.S.C. Section 355).
	(b)  In determining whether a substance poses an imminent
	hazard to the public safety, the commissioner shall consider, in
	addition to the factors provided by Section 481.034(d):
	(1)  the scope, duration, and symptoms of abuse;
	(2)  the degree of detriment that abuse of the
	substance may cause;
	(3)  whether the substance has been temporarily
	scheduled under federal law; and
	(4)  whether the substance has been temporarily or
	permanently scheduled under the law of another state.
	(c)  If the commissioner emergency schedules a substance as a
	controlled substance under this section, an emergency exists for
	purposes of Section 481.036(c) and the action takes effect on the
	date the schedule is published in the Texas Register.
	(d)  An emergency scheduling under this section expires on
	September 1 of each odd-numbered year for any scheduling that
	occurs before January 1 of that year.
	(e)  The commissioner shall post notice about each emergency
	scheduling under this section on the Internet website of the
	Department of State Health Services.
	SECTION 4.  Section 481.119, Health and Safety Code, is
	amended by adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
	(c)  It is a defense to prosecution for an offense under
	Subsection (b) that the actor requested emergency medical
	assistance in response to the possible controlled substance
	overdose of the actor or another person.
	SECTION 5.  Section 481.106, Health and Safety Code, is
	amended to read as follows:
	Sec. 481.106.  CLASSIFICATION OF CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE
	ANALOGUE. For the purposes of the prosecution of an offense under
	this subchapter involving the manufacture, delivery, or possession
	of a controlled substance, Penalty Groups 1, 1-A, [and] 2, and 2-A
	include a controlled substance analogue that:
	(1)  has a chemical structure substantially similar to
	the chemical structure of a controlled substance listed in the
	applicable penalty group; or
	(2)  is specifically designed to produce an effect
	substantially similar to, or greater than, a controlled substance
	listed in the applicable penalty group.
	SECTION 6.  Section 481.123(a), Health and Safety Code, is
	amended to read as follows:
	(a)  It is an affirmative defense to the prosecution of an
	offense under this subchapter involving the manufacture, delivery,
	or possession of a controlled substance analogue that the analogue:
	(1)  [was not in any part intended for human
	consumption;
	[(2)]  was a substance for which there is an approved
	new drug application under Section 505 of the Federal Food, Drug,
	and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. Section 355); or
	(2) [(3)]  was a substance for which an exemption for
	investigational use has been granted under Section 505 of the
	Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. Section 355), if the
	actor's conduct with respect to the substance is in accord with the
	exemption.
	SECTION 7.  The change in law made by this Act applies only
	to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act.
	An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is
	governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed,
	and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For
	purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the
	effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred
	before that date.
	SECTION 8.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.