IIB
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2260
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
OCTOBER 28, 1999
Received
NOVEMBER 19, 1999
Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
AN ACT
To amend the Controlled Substances Act to promote pain
management and palliative care without permitting as-
sisted suicide and euthanasia, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
HR 2260 RFS
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Pain Relief Promotion
Act of 1999’’.
TITLE I—USE OF CONTROLLED
SUBSTANCES 
CONSISTENT
WITH THE CONTROLLED SUB-
STANCES ACT
SEC. 101. REINFORCING EXISTING STANDARD FOR LEGITI-
MATE USE OF CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES.
Section 303 of the Controlled Substances Act (21
U.S.C. 823) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing:
‘‘(i)(1) For purposes of this Act and any regulations
to implement this Act, alleviating pain or discomfort in
the usual course of professional practice is a legitimate
medical purpose for the dispensing, distributing, or admin-
istering of a controlled substance that is consistent with
public health and safety, even if the use of such a sub-
stance may increase the risk of death. Nothing in this sec-
tion authorizes intentionally dispensing, distributing, or
administering a controlled substance for the purpose of
causing death or assisting another person in causing
death.
‘‘(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act,
in determining whether a registration is consistent with
the public interest under this Act, the Attorney General
HR 2260 RFS
shall give no force and effect to State law authorizing or
permitting assisted suicide or euthanasia.
‘‘(3) Paragraph (2) applies only to conduct occurring
after the date of the enactment of this subsection.’’.
SEC. 102. EDUCATION AND TRAINING PROGRAMS.
Section 502(a) of the Controlled Substances Act (21
U.S.C. 872(a)) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph
(5);
(2) by striking the period at the end of para-
graph (6) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(7) educational and training programs for
local, State, and Federal personnel, incorporating
recommendations by the Secretary of Health and
Human Services, on the necessary and legitimate
use of controlled substances in pain management
and palliative care, and means by which investiga-
tion and enforcement actions by law enforcement
personnel may accommodate such use.’’.
HR 2260 RFS
TITLE II—PROMOTING
PALLIATIVE CARE
SEC. 201. ACTIVITIES OF AGENCY FOR HEALTH CARE POL-
ICY AND RESEARCH.
Part A of title IX of the Public Health Service Act
(42 U.S.C. 299 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end
the following section:
‘‘SEC. 906. PROGRAM FOR PALLIATIVE CARE RESEARCH
AND QUALITY.
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall carry
out a program to accomplish the following:
‘‘(1) Develop and advance scientific under-
standing of palliative care.
‘‘(2) Collect and disseminate protocols and evi-
dence-based practices regarding palliative care, with
priority given to pain management for terminally ill
patients, and make such information available to
public and private health care programs and pro-
viders, health professions schools, and hospices, and
to the general public.
‘‘(b) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this section, the
term ‘palliative care’ means the active, total care of pa-
tients whose disease or medical condition is not responsive
to curative treatment or whose prognosis is limited due
to progressive, far-advanced disease. The purpose of such