513.08 ILLEGALLY DISPENSING DRUG SAMPLES.

   (a)   No person shall knowingly furnish another a sample drug.

   (b)   Subsection (a) hereof does not apply to manufacturers, wholesalers, pharmacists, owners of pharmacies, licensed health professionals authorized to prescribe drugs, and other persons whose conduct is in accordance with Ohio R.C. Chapters 3719, 4715, 4729, 4730, 4731, and 4741.

   (c)   Whoever violates this section is guilty of illegal dispensing of drug samples. If the drug involved in the offense is a dangerous drug or a compound, mixture, preparation, or substance included in Schedule III, IV, or V, or is marihuana, the penalty for the offense shall be determined as follows:

      (1)   Except as otherwise provided in subsection (c)(2) hereof, illegal dispensing of drug samples is a misdemeanor of the second degree.

      (2)   If the offense was committed in the vicinity of a school or in the vicinity of a juvenile, illegal dispensing of drug samples is a misdemeanor of the first degree.

   (d)   In addition to any other sanction imposed for an offense under this section, the court that sentences an offender who is convicted of or pleads guilty to a violation of this section may suspend for not more than five years the offender’s driver’s or commercial driver’s license or permit. However, if the offender pleaded guilty to or was convicted of a violation of Ohio R.C. 4511.19 or a substantially similar municipal ordinance or the law of another state or the United States arising out of the same set of circumstances as the violation, the court shall suspend the offender’s driver’s or commercial driver’s license or permit for not more than five years. (ORC 2925.36)