North Carolina § 90-113 - 52A. Electronic record keeping.

§ 90-113. 52A. Electronic record keeping.

A retailer shall, before completing a sale of a product containing a pseudoephedrine product, electronically submit the required information to the National Precursor Log Exchange (NPLEx) administered by the National Association of Drug Diversion Investigators (NADDI), provided that the NPLEx system is available to retailers in the State without a charge for accessing the system and the retailer has Internet access. The seller shall not complete the sale if the system generates a stop alert. Absent negligence, wantoness, recklessness, or deliberate misconduct, any retailer utilizing the electronic sales tracking system in accordance with this subsection shall not be civilly liable as a result of any act or omission in carrying out the duties required by this subsection and shall be immune from liability to any third party unless the retailer has violated any provision of this subsection in relation to a claim brought for such violation. If a pharmacy selling a product containing a pseudoephedrine product experiences mechanical or electronic failure of the electronic sales tracking system and is unable to comply with the electronic sales tracking requirement, the pharmacy or retail establishment shall record that the sale was made without submission to the NPLEx system in the record of disposition required under G.S. 90-113.52. The NADDI shall forward North Carolina transaction records in NPLEx to the State Bureau of Investigation weekly and provide real-time access to NPLEx information through the NPLEx online portal to law enforcement in the State as authorized by the SBI, provided that the SBI executes a memorandum of understanding with NADDI governing access. This system shall be capable of generating a stop sale alert, which shall be a notification that completion of the sale would result in the seller or purchaser violating the quantity limits set forth in G.S. 90-113.52. The system shall contain an override function that may be used by a dispenser of a pseudoephedrine product who has a reasonable fear of imminent bodily harm if the dispenser does not complete a sale. Each instance in which the override function is utilized shall be logged by the system. History (2011-240, s. 2.) Editor's Note. - Session Laws 2011-240, s. 1, provides that: "It is the intent and purpose of this act to continue efforts begun with the Methamphetamine Lab Prevention Act of 2005 to regulate the sale of pseudoephedrine products that are used to manufacture methamphetamine. The use of electronic tracking of methamphetamine sales is being used in several states, including those bordering this State. Other states, which at the time of this act include Oregon and Mississippi, have seen a reduction in methamphetamine labs by designating pseudoephedrine and like products as Schedule III controlled substances, thereby requiring a prescription to obtain pseudoephedrine products. A study should be undertaken to evaluate the efficacy of this act in addressing the production of methamphetamine and to determine whether more stringent methods for the curtailment of methamphetamine production should be allowed to take effect."