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The 193rd General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Section 21B: Advertisement and sale of prescription lock boxes by pharmacies

Section 21B. (a) For the purposes of this section, the following words shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly requires otherwise:

''Lock box'', a box with a locking mechanism that cannot be tampered with or opened without extreme force.

''Pharmacy'', a facility under the direction or supervision of a registered pharmacist which is authorized to dispense controlled substances; provided, however, that ''pharmacy'' shall not include an institutional pharmacy or a pharmacy department except as otherwise provided in 247 CMR.

''Prescription drug'', a drug which, under federal law, is required, prior to being dispensed or delivered, to be labeled with the statement ''Caution, federal law prohibits dispensing without prescription'' or a drug which is required by applicable federal or state law or regulation to be dispensed pursuant only to a prescription drug order.

(b) A pharmacy registered in the commonwealth to dispense schedule II, III, IV or V prescription drugs shall make available prescription lock boxes for sale at each store location. Pharmacies shall make customers aware of the availability of the lock boxes by displaying a sign on or near the pharmacy counter that: (i) is at least 4 inches by 5 inches; and (ii) includes the following statement in legibly printed font: ''Lock boxes for securing your prescription medications are available at this pharmacy''.