Title: Protecting Kids from Candy-Flavored Drugs Act of 2017
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement

Summary:
Protecting Kids from Candy-Flavored Drugs Act of 2017
This bill amends the Controlled Substances Act to prohibit any person from manufacturing, creating, distributing, dispensing, or possessing with intent to distribute a schedule I or II controlled substance that is combined with a candy or beverage product, marketed or packaged to appear similar to a candy or beverage product, or modified by flavoring or coloring to appear similar to a candy or beverage product. Such individual must know or have reasonable cause to believe that the controlled substance will be distributed, dispensed, or sold to a person under 18 years of age. The bill imposes enhanced criminal penalties for such violations in addition to the penalty for the underlying offense.
The bill exempts any controlled substance that: (1) has been approved by the Department of Health and Human Services under the drug approval process if the contents, marketing, and packaging of the controlled substance have not been altered from the approved form; or (2) has been altered at the direction of a practitioner who is acting for a legitimate medical purpose in the usual course of professional practice.
The bill directs the U.S. Sentencing Commission to amend and review its guidelines and policy statements to ensure that the guidelines provide for a penalty enhancement of not less than two offense levels for a violation of this bill.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 739 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 739

 To amend the Controlled Substances Act to provide enhanced penalties 
     for marketing candy-flavored controlled substances to minors.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 28, 2017

Mr. Grassley (for himself and Mrs. Feinstein) introduced the following 
    bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the 
                               Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Controlled Substances Act to provide enhanced penalties 
     for marketing candy-flavored controlled substances to minors.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Protecting Kids from Candy-Flavored 
Drugs Act of 2017''.

SEC. 2. OFFENSES INVOLVING CANDY-FLAVORED CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES 
              MANUFACTURED OR DISTRIBUTED FOR MINORS.

    (a) In General.--Part D of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 
841 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 418 the following:

 ``manufacturing or distributing candy-flavored controlled substances 
                               for minors

    ``Sec. 418a.  (a) Except as provided in subsection (c) and in 
section 418, 419, or 420, a person shall be subject to the penalty 
described in subsection (b) if the person violates section 401(a)(1) 
by--
            ``(1) manufacturing, creating, distributing, dispensing, or 
        possessing with intent to distribute a controlled substance 
        listed in schedule I or II that is--
                    ``(A) combined with a candy or beverage product;
                    ``(B) marketed or packaged to appear similar to a 
                candy or beverage product; or
                    ``(C) modified by flavoring or coloring to appear 
                similar to a candy or beverage product; and
            ``(2) knowing, or having reasonable cause to believe, that 
        the controlled substance will be distributed, dispensed, or 
        sold to a person under 18 years of age.
    ``(b) The penalty described in this subsection is--
            ``(1) in the case of a first offense involving the same 
        controlled substance and schedule, an additional term of 
        imprisonment of not more than 10 years; and
            ``(2) in the case of a second or subsequent offense 
        involving the same controlled substance and schedule, an 
        additional term of imprisonment of not more than 20 years.
    ``(c) Subsection (a) shall not apply to any controlled substance 
that--
            ``(1) has been approved by the Secretary under section 505 
        of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 355), if 
        the contents, marketing, and packaging of the controlled 
        substance have not been altered from the form approved by the 
        Secretary; or
            ``(2) has been altered at the direction of a practitioner 
        who is acting for a legitimate medical purpose in the usual 
        course of professional practice.''.
    (b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The table of contents for 
the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970 (Public 
Law 91-513; 84 Stat. 1236) is amended by inserting after the item 
relating to section 418 the following:

``Sec. 418a. Manufacturing or distributing candy-flavored controlled 
                            substances for minors.''.

SEC. 3. SENTENCING GUIDELINES.

    Pursuant to its authority under section 994 of title 28, United 
States Code, and in accordance with this section, the United States 
Sentencing Commission shall amend and review the Federal sentencing 
guidelines and policy statements to ensure that the guidelines provide 
for a penalty enhancement of not less than 2 offense levels for a 
violation of section 401(a) of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 
841(a)) if the defendant--
            (1) manufactures, creates, distributes, dispenses, or 
        possesses with intent to distribute a controlled substance 
        listed in schedule I or II that is--
                    (A) combined with a candy or beverage product;
                    (B) marketed or packaged to appear similar to a 
                candy or beverage product; or
                    (C) modified by flavoring or coloring to appear 
                similar to a candy or beverage product; and
            (2) knows, or has reasonable cause to believe, that the 
        controlled substance will be distributed, dispensed, or sold to 
        a person under 18 years of age.
                                 <all>