with controlled substance-related felonies. the pharmacy may not sort, count, or review the unwanted prescription medications once collected and they are required to report tampering of any receptacles to the board of pharmacy within 14 days. it is important to note that these pharmaceutical take-back programs only take prescription medications, not drug samples or medical waste. california senate bill 212 on september 30, 2018, california passed sb 212: solid waste: pharmaceutical and sharps waste stewardship. similar to the alameda county ordinance, this is a statewide drug and needle program funded by manufacturers or distributors. the bill requires that these entities create their own stewardship program or be part of a stewardship program, which will be approved by calrecycle. the bill mandates a minimum of 5 collection sites per county or if the county is larger it requires 1 per 50,000 people. they also require retail pharmacies to serve as an "authorized collector." authorized collectors serve their counties in one location or 15% of store locations in the county, depending which is greater. the bill will begin january 2019, with approvals by calrecycle completed and implementation of the programs started january 2021.