Court Opinion

ID: 9540061
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 16:12:30.875545+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T14:59:34.119199
License: Public Domain

MR. JUSTICE MORAN delivered the opinion of the court: In the circuit court of Winnebago County, the defendant, Bruce F. Avery, was charged by way of complaint with a violation of section 406(a)(1) of the Illinois Controlled Substances Act (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1973, ch. 561/2, par. 1406(a)(1)), in that, on March 12, 1974, he knowingly and not in good faith dispensed a controlled substance, diethylpropion, to Edward J. Doyle, by issuing a prescription to Doyle. The defendant moved to dismiss the complaint. The trial court granted the motion, concluding that there was no offense on the basis that any rule issued by the Director of Law Enforcement (Director) to add, delete or reschedule controlled substances had no effect until the purport of such rule was submitted to and adopted by the General Assembly. The trial court further stated that the General Assembly could not delegate such legislative power to the Director. The Illinois Controlled Substances Act, which became effective August 16, 1971, contains five schedules, each of which enumerates various substances. The State concedes that diethylpropion was not among the substances enumerated in the Act on the date of the defendant’s alleged violation, March 12, 1974. Prior to that date, however, the Director had promulgated a rule that added diethylpropion to schedule IV. The rule was to be effective March 1, 1974. The legislature, under section 201(a) of the Illinois Controlled Substances Act (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1973, ch. 561/2, par. 1201(a)), delegated to the Director the power, with the concurrence and approval of the Dangerous Drugs Advisory Council (Council), to issue a rule the effect of which would be to add to or delete from the schedules of controlled substances, or to reschedule those already controlled and enumerated within the five schedules of the Act. The legislature further stated that, in making the determination regarding the rescheduling of a substance, the Director and Council shall consider the following criteria: “(1) the actual or relative potential for abuse; (2) the scientific evidence of its pharmacological effect, if known; (3) the state of current scientific knowledge regarding the substance; (4) the history and current pattern of abuse; (5) the scope, duration, and significance of abuse; (6) the risk to the public health; (7) the potential of the substance to produce psychological or physiological dependence; (8) whether the substance is an immediate precursor of a substance already controlled under this Article; (9) the immediate harmful effect in terms of potentially fatal dosage; and (10) the long-range effects in terms of permanent health impairment.” Ill. Rev. Stat. 1973, ch. 56Vn, par. 1201(a). The criteria set forth are almost identical to those of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970 (21 U.S.C. sec. 801 et seq.), which contains schedules (sec. 812) and authorizes the Attorney General to add substances to, transfer between, or remove them from the schedules (sec. 811). This act of Congress has been held to be a constitutional delegation of legislative power. United States v. Pastor (2d Cir. 1977), 557 F.2d 930. Also see United States v. Piatti (E.D.N.Y. 1976), 416 F. Supp. 1202. In Illinois, as recently stated: “It is well settled that notwithstanding the rule that the General Assembly cannot delegate its general legislative power to others, it may authorize others to do things which it might properly do but cannot do as understandingly or as advantageously itself, if the authority thus granted is delimited by intelligible standards.” (Hoogasian v. Regional Transportation Authority (1974), 58 Ill. 2d 117, 130, and cases cited therein.) “[T] he necessity for speedy, detailed and expert agency action in the area of drug technology cannot be disputed.” (United States v. Pastor (2d Cir. 1977), 557 F.2d 930. We find, then, that the legislature properly delegated to the Director the authority to add, remove or reschedule substances, and it has provided the aforequoted intelligible standards to delimit that authority. The trial court was of the opinion that any rule issued became effective and enforceable only after it was adopted into law by the General Assembly. We disagree. Section 201(b) of the Act (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1973, ch. 561/2, par. 1201(b)) provides that no such rule would “have any effect prior to the concurrence of the Dangerous Drugs Advisory Council,” and, further, that unless within two years after the rule is issued the legislature adopts the essence of the rule (which the Director is to submit to the General Assembly in the form of proposed legislation) the “rule shall expire and have no further force and effect.” A subsequent paragraph within the same section states that any substance designated, rescheduled or deleted as a controlled substance under Federal law shall, upon notice to the Director, be similarly controlled by him. In such event, certain procedural safeguards must be accomplished before the Director’s rule may issue, but the rule, when and if published, “shall be final unless altered by statute.” Ill. Rev. Stat. 1973, ch. 561/2, par. 1201(d). Section 213 of the Act requires revised schedules to be republished semiannually for the first two years, and, thereafter, annually. “If the Director fails to republish the Schedules, the last published Schedules shall remain in full force and effect.” Ill. Rev. Stat. 1973, ch. 561/2, par. 1213. From the above-quoted language of the Act, we conclude that the legislature clearly intended that any rule issued by the Director in conformance with the statute was to have the immediate effect of law. The language and intent, therefore, stand in refutation of the trial court’s conclusion that the Director’s rule did not become law until after it had been adopted into law by the legislature. Section 201(b) of the Illinois Controlled Substances Act (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1973, ch. 561/2, par. 1201(b)), however, fails to provide due notice to persons affected by a rule. It may be argued that, if the Director’s rules are issued under properly delegated authority and are to have the effect of law, no notice should be required inasmuch as no notice is necessary when the legislature itself enacts a law. True, on legislative enactments, notice — as the term is ordinarily employed — is not required. But notice does in fact occur, for it is constitutionally required that “[a] bill shall be read by title on three different days in each house” (Ill. Const. 1970, art. IV, sec. 8(d)). A person who might be affected must have the opportunity to avoid violating the law, especially, as in the instant case, a penal law. Under section 201(b), no notice is required. A rule issued at noon on any given day could be enforced the same day. The legislature itself, had it not delegated the power, could not accomplish this result. The legislature recognized this dangerous omission. The amended section 201, effective August 14, 1975 (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1975, ch. 561/2, par. 1201), provides that the Dangerous Drugs Commission (replacing the Director and Council) must publish its determination, allow 30 days for objections from a party adversely affected, and conduct a hearing and make findings, before determining whether to issue a rule controlling a substance. We therefore conclude that section 201 of the Act, as it existed prior to August 14, 1975 (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1973, ch. 561/2, par. 1201), is invalid for failure to require due notice prior to effect being given any rule which the Director might issue under the delegated authority of the Act. Because of the severability provision of the Act (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1973, ch. 561/2, par. 1602), this holding does not render the Illinois Controlled Substances Act invalid as a whole. For the reasons stated, the judgment of the circuit court of Winnebago County is affirmed. Judgment affirmed.