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(a) Each Retail Pharmacy that stocks Controlled Substances shall maintain a pharmaceutical stock of Buprenorphine sufficient to fill all active existing prescriptions for Buprenorphine for patients of the Retail Pharmacy as of the effective date of the ordinance in Board of Supervisors File No. 240502 enacting this Section 4804 and at least two additional prescriptions for Buprenorphine.
(b) For purposes of this Section 4804, “prescription for Buprenorphine” means sufficient Buprenorphine tablets or film or both to provide a patient with 24 milligrams per day for one week.
(c) It shall be an affirmative defense to a violation of subsection (a) of this Section 4804 for a Retail Pharmacy to demonstrate by a preponderance of the evidence that:
(1) No more than three days had elapsed since the Retail Pharmacy maintained a pharmaceutical stock of Buprenorphine sufficient to fill at least two additional prescriptions for Buprenorphine; and
(2) During that three-day grace period:
(A) the Retail Pharmacy had ordered replacement stock and was waiting for the supplier or wholesaler to fill the order, or
(B) the Retail Pharmacy had requested the supplier or wholesaler increase the Retail Pharmacy’s allotment of Controlled Substances and, once the supplier or wholesaler approved the increase, ordered replacement stock within three days of approval, or
(3) The Retail Pharmacy had requested the supplier or wholesaler increase the Retail Pharmacy’s allotment of Controlled Substances and the supplier or wholesaler denied the request.
(Added by Ord. 206-24, File No. 240502, App. 8/1/2024, Eff. 9/1/2024)
(a) This Article 48 shall be administered and enforced by the Department. The Director may adopt regulations, guidelines, and forms to carry out the provisions and purposes of this Article 48.
(b) For purposes of assessing penalties for violation of this Article 48, each of the following shall constitute a separate violation: (1) each day in which a Retail Pharmacy fails to maintain a sufficient stock of Opioid Antagonists as required under Section 4803(a), subject to the affirmative defense set forth in Section 4803(c); (2) each day in which a Retail Pharmacy that stocks Controlled Substances fails to maintain a sufficient stock of Buprenorphine as required under Section 4804(a), subject to the affirmative defense set forth in Section 4804(c); and (3) each day in which a Retail Pharmacy fails to display the signage required under Section 4803(d).
(c) The Director shall issue a notice of violation for violations of subsections (a) and (d) of Section 4803 or subsection (a) of Section 4804. The Director may impose an administrative penalty of not less than $250 and not more than $1,000 per violation. Administrative Code Chapter 100, “Procedures Governing the Imposition of Administrative Fines,” is hereby incorporated in its entirety, except as it relates to the definition of a violation and the calculation of penalty amounts, addressed in Sections 4805(b) and (c), and that the Director shall appoint the hearing officer to conduct hearings for appeals.
(a) The City Attorney may at any time institute civil proceedings for injunctive and monetary relief, including civil penalties, against any person for violations of this Article 48, without regard to whether the Director has issued a notice of violation, instituted abatement proceedings, scheduled or held a hearing on a notice of violation, or issued a final decision.
(b) At any time, the Director may refer a case to the City Attorney’s Office for civil enforcement, but a referral is not required for the City Attorney to bring a civil action under this Section 4806.
(c) Any person that violates any provision of this Article 48 shall be enjoined and shall be subject to a civil penalty of not less than $250 and not more than $1,000 for each violation, as defined in Section 4805(b), which penalty shall be assessed and recovered in a civil action brought in the name of the people of the City and County of San Francisco by the City Attorney in any court of competent jurisdiction. In assessing the amount of the civil penalty, the court shall consider any one or more of the relevant circumstances presented by any of the parties to the case, including but not limited to, the following: the nature and seriousness of the misconduct giving rise to the violation, the number of violations, the persistence of the misconduct, the length of time over which the misconduct occurred, the willfulness of the defendant’s misconduct, and the defendant’s assets, liabilities and net worth.
(d) The prevailing party in any court case or special proceeding to enforce this Article 48 shall recover reasonable attorneys’ fees if the City Attorney elects, at the initiation of the action, to seek recovery of attorneys’ fees and provides notice of such intention to the adverse party or parties. In no court case or special proceeding shall an award of attorneys’ fees to a prevailing party exceed the amount of reasonable attorneys’ fees incurred by the City.
(e) Remedies under this Section 4806 are non-exclusive and cumulative to all other remedies available at law or equity.
In enacting and implementing Article 48, the City is assuming an undertaking only to promote the general welfare. It is not assuming, nor is it imposing on its officers and employees, an obligation for breach of which it is liable in money damages to any person who claims that such breach proximately caused injury.
If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or word of Article 48, or any application thereof to any person or circumstance, is held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a decision of a court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions or applications of this Article. The Board of Supervisors hereby declares that it would have passed this Article and each and every section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, and word not declared invalid or unconstitutional without regard to whether any other portion of these sections or application thereof would be subsequently declared invalid or unconstitutional.
Nothing in this Article 48 shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any requirement, power, or duty in conflict with any federal or state law.