§ 58-38a-203. Duties of the committee.

(1) The committee serves as a consultative and advisory body to the Legislature regarding:

(a) the movement of a controlled substance from one schedule or list to another;

(b) the removal of a controlled substance from any schedule or list; and

(c) the designation of a substance as a controlled substance and the placement of the substance in a designated schedule or list.

(2) On or before September 30 of each year, the committee shall submit to the Health and Human Services Interim Committee a written report:

(a) describing any substances recommended by the committee for scheduling, rescheduling, listing, or deletion from the schedules or list by the Legislature; and

(b) stating the reasons for the recommendation.

(3) In advising the Legislature regarding the need to add, delete, relist, or reschedule a substance, the committee shall consider:

(a) the actual or probable abuse of the substance, including:

(i) the history and current pattern of abuse both in Utah and in other states;

(ii) the scope, duration, and significance of abuse;

(iii) the degree of actual or probable detriment to public health which may result from abuse of the substance; and

(iv) the probable physical and social impact of widespread abuse of the substance;

(b) the biomedical hazard of the substance, including:

(i) its pharmacology, including the effects and modifiers of the effects of the substance;

(ii) its toxicology, acute and chronic toxicity, interaction with other substances, whether controlled or not, and the degree to which it may cause psychological or physiological dependence; and

(iii) the risk to public health and the particular susceptibility of segments of the population;

(c) whether the substance is an immediate precursor, as defined in Section 58-37-2, of a substance that is currently a controlled substance;

(d) the current state of scientific knowledge regarding the substance, including whether there is any acceptable means to safely use the substance under medical supervision;

(e) the relationship between the use of the substance and criminal activity, including whether:

(i) persons engaged in illicit trafficking of the substance are also engaged in other criminal activity;

(ii) the nature and relative profitability of manufacturing or delivering the substance encourages illicit trafficking in the substance;

(iii) the commission of other crimes is one of the recognized effects of abuse of the substance; and

(iv) addiction to the substance relates to the commission of crimes to facilitate the continued use of the substance;

(f) whether the substance has been scheduled by other states; and

(g) whether the substance has any accepted medical use in treatment in the United States.

(4) The committee's duties under this chapter do not include tobacco products as defined in Section 59-14-102 or alcoholic beverages as defined in Section 32B-1-102.

Amended by Chapter 12, 2011 General Session
Amended by Chapter 340, 2011 General Session