(1) Except as provided in subsection (6)(b) of this section, the owner of each place of business which sells legend drugs and nonprescription drugs, or nonprescription drugs at wholesale shall pay a license fee to be determined by the secretary, and thereafter, on or before a date to be determined by the secretary as provided in RCW
43.70.250 and
43.70.280, a like fee to be determined by the secretary, for which the owner shall receive a license of location from the department, which shall entitle such owner to either sell legend drugs and nonprescription drugs or nonprescription drugs at wholesale at the location specified for the period ending on a date to be determined by the secretary, and each such owner shall at the time of payment of such fee file with the department, on a blank therefor provided, a declaration of ownership and location, which declaration of ownership and location so filed as aforesaid shall be deemed presumptive evidence of the ownership of such place of business mentioned therein. It shall be the duty of the owner to notify immediately the department of any change of location and ownership and to keep the license of location or the renewal thereof properly exhibited in such place of business.
(2) Failure to conform with this section is a misdemeanor, and each day that the failure continues is a separate offense.
(3) In event the license fee remains unpaid on the date due, no renewal or new license shall be issued except upon compliance with administrative procedures, administrative requirements, and fees determined as provided in RCW
43.70.250 and
43.70.280.
(4) No wholesaler may sell any quantity of drug products containing ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, phenylpropanolamine, or their salts, isomers, or salts of isomers, if the total monthly sales of these products to persons within the state of Washington exceed five percent of the wholesaler's total prior monthly sales of nonprescription drugs to persons within the state in March through October. In November through February, no wholesaler may sell any quantity of drug products containing ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, or phenylpropanolamine, or their salts, isomers, or salts of isomers if the total monthly sales of these products to persons within the state of Washington exceed ten percent of the wholesaler's total prior monthly sales of nonprescription drugs to persons within the state. For purposes of this section, monthly sales means total dollars paid by buyers. The commission may suspend or revoke the license of any wholesaler that violates this section.
(5) The commission may exempt a wholesaler from the limitations of subsection (4) of this section if it finds that the wholesaler distributes nonprescription drugs only through transactions between divisions, subsidiaries, or related companies when the wholesaler and the retailer are related by common ownership, and that neither the wholesaler nor the retailer has a history of suspicious transactions in precursor drugs as defined in RCW
69.43.035.
(6)(a) The requirements for a license apply to all persons, in Washington and outside of Washington, who sell both legend drugs and nonprescription drugs and to those who sell only nonprescription drugs, at wholesale to pharmacies, practitioners, and shopkeepers in Washington.
(b) For purposes of the actions authorized by section 1, chapter 195, Laws of 2023, the department of corrections is exempt from obtaining a wholesaler license as required by this section.
(7)(a) No wholesaler may sell any product containing any detectable quantity of ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, phenylpropanolamine, or their salts, isomers, or salts of isomers, to any person in Washington other than a pharmacy licensed under this chapter, a shopkeeper or itinerant vendor registered under this chapter, a practitioner as defined in RCW
18.64.011, or a traditional Chinese herbal practitioner as defined in RCW
69.43.105.
(b) A violation of this subsection is punishable as a class C felony according to chapter
9A.20 RCW, and each sale in violation of this subsection constitutes a separate offense.
