Bill
SD 1944
Prohibits selling any nonprescription dextromethorphan to anyone under 18; requires photo ID at purchase and penalties for retailers, plus a $50 fine for buyers.
Status and timeline
- Introduced: February 27, 2025
- Referred to: Committee on Public Health (2025-02-27)
- Current status: House concurred (indicating the House adopted the Senate’s version)
Purpose
- To prohibit the sale of any nonprescription products containing dextromethorphan (DM), including its salts and optical isomers, to individuals under 18.
- Aims to reduce underage access to dextromethorphan and address potential abuse.
Key provisions
- Scope of prohibition
- It is unlawful to sell any nonprescription material containing any detectable quantity of DM to anyone under 18.
- It is unlawful for someone under 18 to purchase or attempt to purchase such DM-containing products.
- Age verification and sale conditions
- Retailers must verify age via photo identification before selling DM-containing products.
- Alternatively, if the seller reasonably presumes the purchaser is 27 or older based on outward appearance, sale may proceed, but identification is still the standard.
- Acceptable IDs include government-issued photo IDs (e.g., driver’s license, state ID, military ID, passport).
- Compliance scope for retailers
- The act does not impose additional compliance requirements beyond manual proof-of-age verification.
- There is no mandatory product placement requirement, and no additional transaction-record-keeping mandate.
- Enforcement and penalties
- First violation by a manufacturer, distributor, or retailer’s employee/representative: a warning letter from the state Bureau of Health Care Safety and Quality.
- Second violation by an individual employee/representative: civil penalty up to $150.
- Third or subsequent violation by an individual employee/representative: civil penalty up to $250.
- Purchaser violation: civil fine of $50.
- Exclusions
- The act does not apply to DM-containing products dispensed pursuant to a valid prescription.
- Preemption
- The statute preempts local ordinances regulating the sale, distribution, receipt, or possession of DM within the state.
Who is affected
- Retailers, manufacturers, and distributors of nonprescription DM-containing products.
- Employees or representatives of these entities who sell DM-containing products.
- Minors under 18 are directly restricted from purchasing or attempting to purchase DM-containing products.
- General public remains subject to age-verification requirements at the point of sale.
Implications
- Creates a statewide, uniform standard for preventing under-18 access to dextromethorphan.
- Shifts enforcement toward retailer/employee accountability with warnings and civil penalties.
- Balances age-restriction with a relatively light-touch compliance approach (no mandatory behind-the-counter placement or extensive record-keeping).
- Preemption ensures localities cannot adopt conflicting DM sale restrictions.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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