{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-218a.1438","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 218A.1438","heading":"Unlawful distribution of a methamphetamine precursor -- Penalties.","body":"(1) Notwithstanding KRS 218A.1446, a person is guilty of unlawful distribution of a\nmethamphetamine precursor when he or she knowingly and unlawfully sells,\ntransfers, distributes, dispenses, or possesses with the intent to sell, transfer,\ndistribute, or dispense any drug product or combination of drug products containing\nephedrine, pseudoephedrine, or phenylpropanolamine, or any of their salts, isomers,\nor salts of isomers, if the person knows that the purchaser intends that the drug\nproduct or combination of drug products will be used as a precursor to\nmethamphetamine or other controlled substance, or if the person sells, transfers,\ndistributes, or dispenses the drug product or combination of drug products with\nreckless disregard as to how the drug product or combination of drug products will\nbe used.\n(2) Unlawful distribution of a methamphetamine precursor is a Class D felony for the\nfirst offense and a Class C felony for each subsequent offense.\n(3) In addition to the criminal penalty specified in subsection (2) of this section, or in\nlieu of the criminal penalty specified in subsection (2) of this section, any person\nwho traffics in or transfers any drug product or combination of drug products\nspecified in subsection (1) of this section intentionally or recklessly with knowledge\nof or reason to know that the drug product or combination of drug products will be\nused to illegally manufacture methamphetamine or other controlled substance shall\nbe liable for damages in a civil action for all damages, whether direc tly or indirectly\ncaused by the sale or trafficking or transfer of the drug product or drug products.\n(a) Damages may include but are not limited to:\n1. Any and all costs of detecting, investigating, and cleaning up or\nremediating unlawfully operated labor atories or other facilities for the\nillegal manufacture of methamphetamine or other controlled substance;\n2. Costs of prosecution of criminal cases arising from the illegal sale,\ntransfer, distribution, manufacture, or dispensing of a controlled\nsubstance or their precursors;\n3. Court costs and reasonable attorney's fees for bringing this civil action;\n4. Consequential damages; and\n5. Punitive damages.\n(b) A civil action to recover damages against a person or persons violating this\nsection may be brought by the Attorney General, an attorney of the Justice and\nPublic Safety Cabinet, or by any Commonwealth's attorney in whose\njurisdiction the defendant may be shown to have committed an act specified in\nthis section.\n(c) All moneys collected pursuant to such ci vil action shall be distributed in the\nfollowing order:\n1. Court costs and reasonable attorney's fees for bringing this civil action;\n2. The reimbursement of all reasonable costs of detecting, investigating,\ncleaning up or remediating the laboratory or other facility utilized for\nmanufacture of methamphetamine underlying the present judgment;\n3. The reasonable costs of prosecution of criminal cases arising from\ntrafficking in or tr ansfer of a precursor for the illegal manufacture of\nmethamphetamine giving rise to the present judgment; and\n4. All remaining moneys shall be distributed to the General Fund.","path":["KRS Chapter 218A"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=43297","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:52:30Z","sha256":"36e15366e8e91a50483a8df4adaf29e458aa818af71cdee64b40af091be71375","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-218a.1437","next":"us-ky/krs-218a.1439"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}