Bus. & Prof. Code, § 2241.5 · Article 12. Enforcement
Bus. & Prof. Code, § 2241.5
Text — As published in the Legislative Counsel's database, tables dated October 18, 2026 (pubinfo_2025.zip)
(a) A physician and surgeon may prescribe for, or dispense or administer to, a person under their treatment for a medical condition dangerous drugs or prescription controlled substances for the treatment of pain or a condition causing pain, including, but not limited to, intractable pain.
(b) No physician and surgeon shall be subject to disciplinary action for prescribing, dispensing, or administering dangerous drugs or prescription controlled substances in accordance with this section.
(c) This section shall not affect the power of the board to take any action described in Section 2227 against a physician and surgeon who does any of the following:
(1) Violates subdivision (b), (c), or (d) of Section 2234 regarding gross negligence, repeated negligent acts, or incompetence.
(2) Violates Section 2241 regarding treatment of a person with substance use disorder.
(3) Violates Section 2242 or 2525.3 regarding performing an appropriate prior examination and the existence of a medical indication for prescribing, dispensing, or furnishing dangerous drugs or recommending medical cannabis.
(4) Violates Section 2242.1 regarding prescribing on the Internet.
(5) Fails to keep complete and accurate records of purchases and disposals of substances listed in the California Uniform Controlled Substances Act (Division 10 (commencing with Section 11000) of the Health and Safety Code) or controlled substances scheduled in the federal Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970 (21 U.S.C. Sec. 801 et seq.), or pursuant to the federal Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970. A physician and surgeon shall keep records of their purchases and disposals of these controlled substances or dangerous drugs, including the date of purchase, the date and records of the sale or disposal of the drugs by the physician and surgeon, the name and address of the person receiving the drugs, and the reason for the disposal or the dispensing of the drugs to the person, and shall otherwise comply with all state recordkeeping requirements for controlled substances.
(6) Writes false or fictitious prescriptions for controlled substances listed in the California Uniform Controlled Substances Act or scheduled in the federal Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970.
(7) Prescribes, administers, or dispenses in violation of this chapter, or in violation of Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 11150) or Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 11210) of Division 10 of the Health and Safety Code.
(d) A physician and surgeon shall exercise reasonable care in determining whether a particular patient or condition, or the complexity of a patient’s treatment, including, but not limited to, a current or recent pattern of drug abuse, requires consultation with, or referral to, a more qualified specialist.
(e) Nothing in this section shall prohibit the governing body of a hospital from taking disciplinary actions against a physician and surgeon pursuant to Sections 809.05, 809.4, and 809.5.
Notes and commentary — not statutory text
History
Amended by Stats. 2023, Ch. 21, Sec. 2. (AB 1130) Effective January 1, 2024.
Source of truth
- Edition
- As published in the Legislative Counsel's database, tables dated October 18, 2026 (pubinfo_2025.zip)
- Official file
- https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=BPC§ionNum=2241.5.
- Text hash
- sha256 6780217dad175f8c2ea390cf9a18a45f1028a48ba7832f91aabbab60c61e6eaf
- Composed by
- compose_ca.py 2026-10-22: the Legislative Counsel's CAML content files read by a tokenizer (caml_readers.reader_a); an independent xml.etree reading (caml_readers.reader_b) agrees on every section
This section cites
Provisions in this library that the text above cites, as it prints each citation. A range cited as “ss. 61.13-61.16” links its first and last provisions.
Business and Professions Code
- Bus. & Prof. Code, § 809.05Printed as Sections 809.05, 809.4, and 809.5
- Bus. & Prof. Code, § 809.4Printed as Sections 809.05, 809.4, and 809.5
- Bus. & Prof. Code, § 809.5Printed as Sections 809.05, 809.4, and 809.5
- Bus. & Prof. Code, § 2227Printed as Section 2227
- Bus. & Prof. Code, § 2234Printed as Section 2234
- Bus. & Prof. Code, § 2241Printed as Section 2241
- Bus. & Prof. Code, § 2242Printed as Section 2242 or 2525.3
- Bus. & Prof. Code, § 2242.1Printed as Section 2242.1
- Bus. & Prof. Code, § 2525.3Printed as Section 2242 or 2525.3
Health and Safety Code
- Health & Saf. Code, div. 10UNIFORM CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES ACTPrinted as Division 10 (commencing with Section 11000) of the Health and Safety Code
- Health & Saf. Code, div. 10, ch. 4PrescriptionsPrinted as Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 11150) … of the Health and Safety Code
- Health & Saf. Code, div. 10, ch. 5Use of Controlled SubstancesPrinted as Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 11210) of Division 10 of the Health and Safety Code
Cited by 6 provisions
Provisions in this library whose text cites Bus. & Prof. Code, § 2241.5. Each shows the citation as that text prints it.
Business and Professions Code
Procedural information only. Not legal advice and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Confirm the current text with the official publisher before relying on it.