1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to health; allowing physicians to prescribe 
  1.3             and administer controlled substances in cases of 
  1.4             intractable pain; proposing coding for new law in 
  1.5             Minnesota Statutes, chapter 152. 
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  [152.125] [INTRACTABLE PAIN.] 
  1.8      Subdivision 1.  [DEFINITION.] For purposes of this section, 
  1.9   "intractable pain" means a pain state in which the cause of the 
  1.10  pain cannot be removed or otherwise treated and in which, in the 
  1.11  generally accepted course of medical practice, no relief or cure 
  1.12  of the cause of the pain is possible, or none has been found 
  1.13  after reasonable efforts, including, but not limited to, 
  1.14  evaluation by the attending physician and one or more physicians 
  1.15  specializing in the treatment of the area, system, or organ of 
  1.16  the body perceived as the source of the pain. 
  1.17     Subd. 2.  [PRESCRIPTION AND ADMINISTRATION OF CONTROLLED 
  1.18  SUBSTANCES FOR INTRACTABLE PAIN.] Notwithstanding any other 
  1.19  provision of this chapter, a physician may prescribe or 
  1.20  administer a controlled substance in schedules II to V of 
  1.21  section 152.02 to an individual in the course of the physician's 
  1.22  treatment of the individual for a diagnosed condition causing 
  1.23  intractable pain.  No physician shall be subject to disciplinary 
  1.24  action by the board of medical practice for prescribing or 
  1.25  administering a controlled substance in schedules II to V of 
  2.1   section 152.02 in the course of treatment of an individual for 
  2.2   intractable pain. 
  2.3      Subd. 3.  [LIMITS ON APPLICABILITY.] This section does not 
  2.4   apply to: 
  2.5      (1) a physician's treatment of an individual for chemical 
  2.6   dependency resulting from the use of controlled substances in 
  2.7   schedules II to V of section 152.02; 
  2.8      (2) the prescription or administration of controlled 
  2.9   substances in schedules II to V of section 152.02 to an 
  2.10  individual whom the physician knows to be using the controlled 
  2.11  substances for nontherapeutic purposes; 
  2.12     (3) the prescription or administration of controlled 
  2.13  substances in schedules II to V of section 152.02 for the 
  2.14  purpose of terminating the life of an individual having 
  2.15  intractable pain; or 
  2.16     (4) the prescription or administration of a controlled 
  2.17  substance in schedules II to V of section 152.02 that is not a 
  2.18  controlled substance approved by the United States Food and Drug 
  2.19  Administration for pain relief. 
  2.20     Subd. 4.  [NOTICE OF RISKS.] Prior to treating an 
  2.21  individual for intractable pain in accordance with subdivision 
  2.22  2, a physician shall provide to the individual a written notice 
  2.23  disclosing the material risks associated with the controlled 
  2.24  substances in schedules II to V of section 152.02 to be 
  2.25  prescribed or administered in the course of the physician's 
  2.26  treatment of the individual.  A physician may commence with 
  2.27  treatment of intractable pain in accordance with subdivision 2 
  2.28  only if the individual signs a statement indicating that the 
  2.29  individual has read and understood the disclosure.