Brief⁽¹⁾

S.B. 533 amends a law that currently makes it unlawful to sell any medicine, drug, or poison through vending machines or other mechanical devices. The amendments would change the prohibition to apply only to the sale of prescription drugs or medications, and require nonprescription medications to be sold only in the manufacturer's original, tamper evident, and expiration-dated package. The misdemeanor penalty in the existing law is updated to reflect a class C misdemeanor. A new subsection (b) added to the statute requires any vending machine in which nonprescription drugs or medications are offered for sale to be located in a climate controlled area, and provides that the drugs offered for sale may not be older than the manufacturer's expiration date. A violation of the latter restrictions would be a class C nonperson misdemeanor, subject to a penalty of not less than $25 and not more than $500.

Background

Kansas and Arizona are the only two states that still prohibit the sale of over-the-counter drugs such as aspirin from being sold in vending machines. The bill was supported during Committee hearings by a representative of Medi-Kwik Vending Service, Hutchinson, who noted most businesses such as Wal-Mart and Kwik Shops, sell the same basic nonprescription products which can be purchased by anyone. A representative of the Kansas Pharmacists Association testified in opposition. Comments were received from a pharmacist present at the Committee hearing.

The fiscal note on S.B. 533 indicates it would have no impact on state or local operations.

1. *Supplemental notes are prepared by the Legislative Research Department and do not express legislative intent. The supplemental note and fiscal note for this bill may be accessed on the Internet at http://www.ink.org/public/legislative/fulltext-bill.html.