Colorado statute
C.R.S. § 18-18-414 — Unlawful acts - licenses - penalties.
Current through 2025 Regular Session
Part of Part 4: OFFENSES AND PENALTIES, Colorado Revised Statutes.
Criminal charges under this statute
Full text of C.R.S. § 18-18-414
Statutory text current through the 2025 Regular Session. This is an officially sanctioned publication using the official text of the Colorado Revised Statutes; it is not the official statutes of the State of Colorado.
(1) Except as otherwise provided in this article 18 or in article 280 of title 12, the following acts are unlawful: (a) The dispensing or possession of a schedule I controlled substance except by a researcher who is registered under federal law to conduct research with that schedule I controlled substance; (b) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, the dispensing of any schedule II controlled substance unless such substance is dispensed: (I) From a pharmacy pursuant to a written order or an order electronically transmitted in accordance with 21 CFR 1311; or (II) By any practitioner in the course of his or her professional practice; (c) The dispensing of any schedule III, IV, or V controlled substance unless such controlled substance is dispensed from a pharmacy pursuant to a written, oral, mechanically produced, computer generated, electronically transmitted, or facsimile transmitted order or is dispensed by any practitioner in the course of his or her professional practice; (d) The dispensing of any marijuana or marijuana concentrate; (e) To refill any schedule III, IV, or V controlled substance more than six months after the date on which such prescription was issued or more than five times; (f) The failure of a pharmacy to file and retain the prescription as required in section 12-280-134; (g) The failure of a hospital to record and maintain a record of such dispensing as provided in section 12-280-134 or 27-80-210; (h) The refusal to make available for inspection and to accord full opportunity to check any record or file as required by this article 18, part 1 of article 280 of title 12, or part 2 of article 80 of title 27; (i) The failure to keep records as required by this article 18, part 1 of article 280 of title 12, or part 2 of article 80 of title 27; (j) The failure to obtain a license or registration as required by this article 18, part 1 of article 280 of title 12, or part 2 of article 80 of title 27; (k) Except when controlled substances are dispensed by a practitioner for direct administration in the course of his practice or are dispensed for administration to hospital inpatients, the failure to affix to the immediate container a label stating: (I) The name and address of the person from whom such controlled substance was dispensed; (II) The date on which such controlled substance was dispensed; (III) The number of such prescription as filed in the prescription files of the pharmacy which dispensed such prescription; (IV) The name of the prescribing practitioner; (V) The directions for use of the controlled substance as contained in the prescription; and (VI) The name of the patient and, if for an animal, the name of the owner; (l) The failure of a practitioner, in dispensing a controlled substance other than by direct administration in the course of his practice, to affix to the immediate container a label bearing directions for use of the controlled substance, his name and registry number, the name of the patient, the date, and, if for an animal, the name of the owner; (m) The administration of a controlled substance other than to the patient for whom prescribed; (n) The possession, by any practitioner, of a controlled substance which was not obtained from a pharmacy and which was received from a person who is not licensed as a manufacturer, distributor, or practitioner. It is also unlawful for a pharmacy to have possession of a controlled substance which is received from any person who is not licensed as a manufacturer or distributor; except that a pharmacy may buy controlled substances from another pharmacy. (o) Knowingly transferring drug precursors to any person who uses them for an unlawful activity; (p) (Deleted by amendment, L. 96, p. 149, § 5, effective April 8, 1996.) (q) Knowingly acquiring or obtaining, or attempting to acquire or obtain, possession of a drug precursor by misrepresentation, fraud, forgery, deception, or subterfuge; (r) Knowingly furnishing false or fraudulent material information in, or omitting any material information from, any application, report, or other document required to be kept or filed under this article 18, part 1 of article 280 of title 12, or part 2 of article 80 of title 27, or any record required to be kept by this article 18, part 1 of article 280 of title 12, or part 2 of article 80 of title 27; (s) (Deleted by amendment, L. 96, p. 149, § 5, effective April 8, 1996.) (t) The refusal of entry into any premises for any inspection authorized by this article 18, part 1 of article 280 of title 12, or part 2 of article 80 of title 27. (2) (a) A pharmacist in an emergency situation, in lieu of a written or electronically transmitted prescription order, in good faith, may dispense up to a seventy-two-hour supply of any controlled substance listed in schedule II of part 2 of this article without a written or electronically transmitted prescription order. An "emergency situation", as used in this paragraph (a), means a situation in which the prescribing practitioner determines: (I) That immediate dispensing of the controlled substance is necessary for proper treatment of the intended ultimate user; (II) That no alternative prescription drug is available, including drugs that are not controlled substances under schedule II of part 2 of this article; (III) That it is not reasonably possible for the prescribing practitioner to provide a written prescription order to be presented to the person dispensing the controlled substance, or to electronically transmit a prescription order to the dispenser, prior to such dispensing. (b) (I) Upon receiving an emergency oral prescription order from the practitioner, the pharmacist shall immediately reduce the prescription order to writing or an electronic format and shall write or otherwise ensure that the following language and information is recorded in the prescription record: "Authorization for emergency dispensing" and the date and time of dispensing of the oral prescription. (II) The prescribing practitioner shall reduce the prescription order to writing or an electronic format and shall deliver the prescription order to the pharmacist in person, by facsimile transmission as provided in paragraph (c) of this subsection (2), by mail, or by electronic transmission within seventy-two hours after prescribing the schedule II controlled substance. If delivered by mail, the envelope must be postmarked within seventy-two hours after prescribing. Upon receipt of the prescription order, the pharmacist shall maintain the prescription order with the oral prescription order that has been reduced to writing or an electronic format. (III) The pharmacist shall notify the board if the prescribing practitioner fails to deliver the written or electronic prescription order to the pharmacist. (c) (I) A prescription for a controlled substance listed in schedule II of part 2 of this article may be transmitted via facsimile equipment, so long as the original written, signed prescription is presented to the pharmacist for review prior to the actual dispensing of the controlled substance, except as provided in subparagraph (II) of this paragraph (c). (II) A prescription written for a schedule II controlled substance for a hospice patient or for a resident of a long-term care facility or for the direct home administration to a patient by parenteral, intravenous, intramuscular, subcutaneous, or intraspinal infusion (infusion drug therapy) may be transmitted by the practitioner or the practitioner's agent to the dispensing pharmacy or pharmacist by facsimile transmission. The practitioner or the practitioner's agent shall note on the prescription that the patient is a hospice patient or a resident in a long-term care facility or a patient receiving infusion drug therapy. The facsimile serves as the original written prescription for purposes of this section and shall be maintained as specified by the board. (III) For the purposes of this paragraph (c): (A) "Hospice patient" means an individual who is receiving hospice care from an entity licensed and regulated by the department of public health and environment pursuant to sections 25-1.5-103 (1)(a)(I) and 25-3-101, C.R.S. (B) "Long-term care facility" means a facility that is licensed and regulated as a skilled nursing facility or nursing care facility by the department of public health and environment pursuant to sections 25-1.5-103 (1)(a)(I) and 25-3-101, C.R.S. (3) A person who violates paragraph (a), (b), (c), or (d) of subsection (1) of this section commits a level 4 drug felony. (4) A person who violates paragraph (e), (f), (g), (h), (i), (j), (k), (l), (m), or (n) of subsection (1) of this section or subsection (2) of this section or any other provision of this part 4 for which a penalty is not specified is guilty of a level 2 drug misdemeanor. (5) A person who violates paragraph (o), (q), (r), or (t) of subsection (1) of this section commits a level 3 drug felony.
Official sources
Legal terms used in this section
Questions this section answers
Is unlawful acts a felony or a misdemeanor in Colorado?
It depends on the circumstances: unlawful acts ranges from a level 2 drug misdemeanor to a level 3 drug felony in Colorado under C.R.S. § 18-18-414.
Unlawful dispensing/possession under (1)(a)-(d): level 4 drug felony (C.R.S. § 18-18-414(3)) · Recordkeeping, labeling, refill, and possession violations under (1)(e)-(n) and emergency dispensing violations under (2): level 2 drug misdemeanor (C.R.S. § 18-18-414(4)) · Precursor and false information violations under (1)(o),(q),(r),(t): level 3 drug felony (C.R.S. § 18-18-414(5))
Which Colorado statute covers unlawful acts?
Unlawful acts is governed by C.R.S. § 18-18-414 (Unlawful acts - licenses - penalties).
This reference is informational and is not legal advice.