Lake County Municipal Code Art. X Regulations Governing the Identification of Purchasers and Storage Of…

9-100.1 Methamphetamine has become the predominant illegal drug in the County of Lake. Methamphetamine addiction has devastating consequences for the families and children of those addicted as well as the addicts themselves. Methamphetamine addiction is directly tied to increases in criminal activity and violence in Lake County. The County of Lake continues to see an increase in the production and use of methamphetamine by residents and by others who have chosen to prey on availability of space and limited law enforcement resources. The County of Lake has incurred significant costs associated with drug arrests, health costs related to intravenous drug use, treatment admissions and environmental cleanups related to methamphetamine use.

Methamphetamine production is dependent on pseudoephedrine which is commonly purchased as cold and allergy medications and readily available at many retail outlets in the County of Lake. Current statutory provisions found at Health and Safety Code Section 111000 et seq. regulating the sale of over-the-counter products containing pseudoephedrine do not address the storage of said products or the identification of buyers of said products. The Board of Supervisors finds that there are compelling reasons to exercise its police powers to address the storage of over-the-counter products containing pseudoephedrine and the identification of said buyers of said products and that the measures in this section are not preempted by state law. The Board of Supervisors further finds that measures contained in this section are necessary to reduce the theft and availability of products containing pseudoephedrine and thereby reducing methamphetamine production and sales in the County of Lake.

9-100.2 Display and Storage. No owner, manager or proprietor in charge of any business selling over-the-counter products which lists pseudoephedrine as an ingredient shall display said product where it is accessible by customers of said business. All products which lists pseudoephedrine as an ingredient shall be kept behind the counter in a place that is not accessible to retail customers.

9-100.3 Identification and Logging Required. No owner, manager, proprietor or employee in charge of any business selling any over-the-counter products which lists pseudoephedrine as an ingredient shall sell said product unless the buyer of said product first produces a photo identification and provides the seller with a current address, telephone number. The seller shall enter into a written log the buyer's name, address and telephone number, date and quantity purchased.

9-100.4 Inspection of Log. The written log of buyers, maintained pursuant to subsection 9-100.3 of this section, shall be provided to the Lake County Drug Task Force or other local law enforcement authorities pursuant to a lawful search warrant or subpoena issued by judicial process.

9-100.5 Penalty. Any person violating any provision of this article shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall be punished by a fine not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500.00) for each offense or by imprisonment in the County Jail for a period of not more than six (6) months, or by both such fine and imprisonment.

9-100.6 Exceptions. No provision of this article shall be deemed, whether directly or indirectly, to authorize any use, possession or other act which is otherwise prohibited by any law of the State of California, or require any act which is prohibited by any law of the State of California. Nor shall any provision of this article be deemed, whether directly or indirectly, to prohibit any act or acts which are prohibited by any law of the State of California.

9-100.7 Severability. If any provision of this article or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of the article which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this act are severable.

(Ord. No. 2746 § 1, 9-13-2005)

Secs. 9-101—9-109. - Reserved.