California statute
Cal. Health & Safety Code § 11159.2
Current through 2025–2026 Regular Session (leginfo weekly dump, 2026-07-12)
Part of Article 1: Requirements of Prescriptions, California Health and Safety Code.
Full text of Cal. Health & Safety Code § 11159.2
Statutory text current through the 2025–2026 Regular Session (leginfo weekly dump, 2026-07-12). This publication reproduces the official statutory text; it is not the official statutes of the State of California.
(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a prescription for a controlled substance for use by a patient who has a terminal illness may be written on a prescription form that does not meet the requirements of Section 11162.1 if the prescription meets the following requirements: (1) Contain the information specified in subdivision (a) of Section 11164. (2) Indicate that the prescriber has certified that the patient is terminally ill by the words “11159.2 exemption.” (b) A pharmacist may fill a prescription pursuant to this section when there is a technical error in the certification required by paragraph (2) of subdivision (a), provided that he or she has personal knowledge of the patient’s terminal illness, and subsequently returns the prescription to the prescriber for correction within 72 hours. (c) For purposes of this section, “terminally ill” means a patient who meets all of the following conditions: (1) In the reasonable medical judgment of the prescribing physician, the patient has been determined to be suffering from an illness that is incurable and irreversible. (2) In the reasonable medical judgment of the prescribing physician, the patient’s illness will, if the illness takes its normal course, bring about the death of the patient within a period of one year. (3) The patient’s treatment by the physician prescribing a controlled substance pursuant to this section primarily is for the control of pain, symptom management, or both, rather than for cure of the illness. (d) This section shall become operative on July 1, 2004.
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