1. A. As used in this section:

   1. (1) "donor" means a person who donates unused prescription drugs to an eligible recipient for the purpose of redistribution to patients;

   2. (2) "eligible recipient" means a person who registers with the board to participate in the collection of donated drugs and is:

      1. (a) licensed pursuant to Section 61-11-14 NMSA 1978 to receive and distribute prescription drugs;
      2. (b) a health care facility licensed by the health care authority pursuant to the Health Care Code [Chapter 24A NMSA 1978]; or
      3. (c) a practitioner licensed to prescribe prescription drugs;
   3. (3) "patient" means an individual who voluntarily receives donated prescription drugs; and
   4. (4) "tamper-evident" means a device or process that makes unauthorized access to protected pharmaceutical packaging easily detected.
2. B. The board shall adopt and promulgate rules for the donation of unused prescription drugs. Any person, including persons from other states, may donate unexpired and unused prescription drugs to an eligible recipient, and an eligible recipient may accept and redistribute the donated prescription drugs in accordance with rules promulgated by the board. Donated prescription drugs shall only be redistributed to a patient if the drugs will not expire before the patient is able to completely use the drugs, based on the directions for use given by the patient's prescribing health care professional.

3. C. The board shall promulgate rules to establish:

   1. (1) procedures to allow the donation and redistribution of certain prescription drugs, including refrigerated drugs, that:

      1. (a) ensure that the redistribution process is consistent with public health and safety standards;
      2. (b) exclude controlled substances; and
      3. (c) allow in-state and out-of-state pharmacies that are experienced in managing donated prescription drugs to distribute donated prescription drugs to patients, either at a physical pharmacy location or through a mail-order pharmacy;
   2. (2) standards and procedures for accepting, storing, labeling and redistributing donated prescription drugs;
   3. (3) standards and procedures for inspecting donated prescription drugs to determine that the packaging is tamper-evident and that the donated prescription drugs are unadulterated, safe and suitable for redistribution;

   4. (4) a form to be signed by the patient specifying:

      1. (a) knowledge that the donor took reasonable care of the donated prescription drug;
      2. (b) knowledge that the donated prescription drugs have been inspected prior to being dispensed and that there is no reason to believe that the donated prescription drug was improperly handled or stored;
      3. (c) that any person who exercises reasonable care in donating, accepting or redistributing pursuant to this section shall be immune from civil or criminal liability or professional disciplinary action of any kind for any related injury, death or loss; and
      4. (d) that the immunity provided by this section shall not decrease or increase the civil or criminal liability of a drug manufacturer, distributor or dispenser that would have existed but for the donation;

   5. (5) information required to be provided by the donor verifying that:

      1. (a) the donated prescription drug has been properly stored and the container has not been opened or tampered with;
      2. (b) the donated prescription drug has not been adulterated or misbranded; and
      3. (c) the donor is voluntarily donating the prescription drug;
   6. (6) a handling fee not to exceed the reasonable costs of participating in the collection of donated prescription drugs that may be charged to the patient by the eligible recipient to cover the costs of inspecting, storing, labeling and redistributing the donated prescription drug; and
   7. (7) any other standards deemed necessary by the board.
4. D. The board shall maintain and publish a current listing of eligible recipients.

5. E. Before redistributing donated prescription drugs, the eligible recipient shall:

   1. (1) comply with all applicable federal laws and the laws of the state that deal with the inspection, storage, labeling and redistribution of donated prescription drugs; and
   2. (2) examine the donated prescription drug to determine that it has not been adulterated or misbranded and certify that the drug has been stored in compliance with the requirements of the product label.
6. F. Any person who exercises reasonable care in donating, accepting or redistributing prescription drugs pursuant to this section shall be immune from civil or criminal liability or professional disciplinary action of any kind for any related injury, death or loss.
7. G. The immunity provided by this section shall not decrease or increase the civil or criminal liability of a drug manufacturer, distributor or dispenser that would have existed but for the donation.
8. H. A manufacturer shall not be liable for failure to transfer or communicate product consumer information or the expiration date of the donated prescription drug pursuant to this section.
9. I. This section does not restrict the authority of an appropriate governmental agency to regulate or ban the use of any prescription drugs.

History: Laws 2011, ch. 119, § 1; 2025, ch. 116, § 1.

ANNOTATIONS

The 2025 amendment, effective June 20, 2025, expanded the prescription drug donation program to allow more donors and recipients to participate in the donation, collection and redistribution of unused prescription drugs, defined "eligible recipient" as used in this section, and deleted certain definitions; in Subsection A, deleted Paragraph A(1), which defined "clinic", and redesignated former Paragraph A(2) as Paragraph A(1), in Paragraph A(1), after "prescription drugs to" deleted the remainder of the paragraph; deleted former Paragraph A(3), which defined "participating practitioner", added a new Paragraph A(2) and redesignated former Paragraphs A(4) and A(5) as Paragraphs A(3) and A(4), respectively, and in Paragraph A(3), substituted "recipient" with "patient"; in Subsection B, after the subsection designation, added "The board shall adopt and promulgate rules for the donation of", after "prescription drugs" added "Any person, including persons from other states", after "may" deleted "be donated" and added "donate unexpired and unused prescription drugs", after "to" deleted "a clinic or a participating practitioner, and a clinic or a participating practitioner" and added "an eligible recipient, and an eligible recipient", and after "by the board", added the remainder of the subsection; in Subsection C, Paragraph C(1), added new Subparagraph C(1)(c), in Paragraph C(4), in the introductory clause, replaced "recipient" with "patient", in Subparagraph C(4)(b), after "knowledge that the" deleted "donor is known to the clinic or the participating practitioner" and added "donated prescription drugs have been inspected prior to being dispensed", in Paragraph C(5), after the paragraph designation, deleted "a form to be signed" and added "information required to be provided", in Paragraph C(6), after "not to exceed" deleted "twenty dollars ($20.00)" and added "the reasonable costs of participating in the collection of donated prescription drugs", and replaced "recipient" with "patient", and "clinic or the participating practitioner" with "eligible recipient"; in Subsection D and E, replaced "clinic or the participating practitioner" with "eligible recipient".