§ 138.04. Possession, sale, and disposal of hypodermics.

A.

Possession of a hypodermic is authorized for:

1.

Any manufacturer or distributor of, or dealer in, hypodermics, or medication packaged in hypodermics, and any authorized agent or employee of such manufacturer, distributor or dealer, in the regular course of business;

2.

A hospital, owner of a pharmacy or pharmacist, in the regular course of business;

3.

Any practitioner, nurse or other person authorized to administer injections in the regular course of his profession or employment;

4.

Any person, when the hypodermic in his possession was lawfully obtained and is kept and used for the purpose of self-administration of insulin or other drug prescribed by a practitioner for the treatment of disease;

5.

Any person whose use of a hypodermic is for legal research, clinical or medicinal purposes;

6.

Any farmer, for the lawful administration of a drug to an animal;

7.

Any person whose use of a hypodermic is for lawful, professional, mechanical, trade or craft purpose.

B.

No manufacturer or distributor of, or dealer in, hypodermics or medication packaged in hypodermics, or their authorized agents or employees, and no owner of a pharmacy or pharmacist, shall display any hypodermic for sale. No person authorized to possess a hypodermic pursuant to subsection A of this section shall negligently fail to take reasonable precautions to prevent any hypodermic in his possession from theft or acquisition by any unauthorized person or negligently discard a hypodermic without first having rendered it completely unusable for its original purpose.

C.

A pharmacist or person under the direct supervision of a pharmacist may furnish hypodermics to another without a prescription by a practitioner, but the pharmacist or person under his supervision shall require positive identification of each person to whom hypodermics are furnished and shall keep a written record of each transaction, including the date, the type and the quantity of the articles furnished, and the name, address and signature of the person to whom such articles are furnished. No pharmacist or person under his supervision shall fail to comply with this subsection in furnishing hypodermics.

D.

Whoever violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor of the third degree on a first offense. If an offender has previously been convicted of a violation of any of the provisions of this section or of any drug abuse offense, a violation is a misdemeanor of the first degree. Penalty, see § 130.99. (R.C. §§ 3719.172, 3719.99 (D))