North Carolina § 90-86 - Title of Article.

§ 90-86. Title of Article.

This Article shall be known and may be cited as the "North Carolina Controlled Substances Act." History (1971, c. 919, s. 1.) Editor's Note. - Session Laws 2015-284, s. 1, provides: "(a) Pilot Program. - By no later than December 1, 2015, the State Bureau of Investigation, in consultation and collaboration with the North Carolina Harm Reduction Coalition, shall establish and implement a used needle and hypodermic syringe disposal pilot program. The pilot program shall offer the free disposal of used needles and hypodermic syringes to reduce the spread of HIV, AIDS, viral hepatitis, and other bloodborne diseases through needle stick injuries resulting from physical contact with improperly discarded used needles and hypodermic syringes. The pilot program shall include all of the following: "(1) Reasonable and adequate security of disposal sites and equipment. "(2) An accounting of the approximate number of used needles and hypodermic syringes returned and disposed of. "(3) Within each of the counties chosen pursuant to subsection (b) of this section, a general report of the availability of relevant educational materials; HIV and viral hepatitis counseling and testing; referral services to provide education regarding HIV, AIDS, and viral hepatitis transmission; and drug abuse prevention and treatment counseling and referral services. "(b) Sites. - The State Bureau of Investigation shall select two counties in which to operate the pilot program initially but may select up to four counties total in which to operate the pilot program after successful demonstration of the pilot in at least two counties. The State Bureau of Investigation shall collaborate with the local health departments and local law enforcement agencies of the counties when implementing and operating the pilot program established under this section. "(c) Limited Immunity. - Any person participating in the pilot program established under this section shall not be charged with or prosecuted for possession of drug paraphernalia for any used needle or hypodermic syringe returned and disposed of, or for residual amounts of a controlled substance contained in the used needle or hypodermic syringe returned and disposed of. The limited immunity under this subsection does not apply to the possession of needles or hypodermic syringes that are not a part of the pilot program established under this section. "(d) Report. - No later than one year after implementing the pilot program required by this section, the State Bureau of Investigation shall report the results of the pilot program to the chairs of the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Health and Human Services and the chairs of the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Justice and Public Safety. If the State Bureau of Investigation deems the initial pilot program in two counties a success, the report may include a recommendation to continue the pilot in those counties for an additional year and may include a recommendation to add two additional counties to the pilot program; this would allow the extension of the pilot program for an additional year, and at the conclusion of that second year, the State Bureau of Investigation shall provide another report to the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Health and Human Services and the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Justice and Public Safety. "(e) Expiration. - The pilot program required by this section shall expire upon the submission of the report required by subsection (d) of this section." Session Laws 2020-3, s. 3A.1(a), provides: "Unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the following definitions apply in this Part: "(1) CDC. - The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "(2) COVID-19. - Coronavirus disease 2019. "(3) COVID-19 diagnostic test. - A test the federal Food and Drug Administration has authorized for emergency use or approved to detect the presence of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. "(4) COVID-19 emergency. - The period beginning March 10, 2020, and ending on the date the Governor signs an executive order rescinding Executive Order No. 116, Declaration of a State of Emergency to Coordinate Response and Protective Actions to Prevent the Spread of COVID-19. "(5) COVID-19 antibody test. - A serological blood test the federal Food and Drug Administration has authorized for emergency use or approved to measure the amount of antibodies or proteins present in the blood when the body is responding to an infection caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2." Session Laws 2020-3, s. 3D.8(a), (b), provides: "(a) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, for the duration of the COVID-19 emergency, a hospital, nursing home, or clinic holding a valid State registration for controlled substances under Article 5 of Chapter 90 of the General Statutes may temporarily dispense or use controlled substances at additional places of business by completing the registration process developed by the Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Substance Abuse Services of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, and providing all information required pursuant to said emergency registration process for any overflow facility or satellite facility that may be established temporarily by the hospital, nursing home, or clinic registrant in response to the COVID-19 emergency, and no registration fee shall be required in connection with any such emergency registration. "(b) This section is effective when it becomes law and expires 60 days after Executive Order No. 116 is rescinded, or December 31, 2020, whichever is earlier." Session Laws 2020-3, s. 5, is a severability clause. Legal Periodicals. - For survey of 1976 criminal case law, see 55 N.C.L. Rev. 976 (1977). For survey of 1979 administrative law, see 58 N.C.L. Rev. 1185 (1980). For comment, "Admissibility of Biochemical Urinalysis Testing Results for the Purpose of Detecting Marijuana Use," see 20 Wake Forest L. Rev. 391 (1984). For a survey of 1996 developments in constitutional law, see 75 N.C.L. Rev. 2252 (1997).