Illinois General Assembly

  Bills & Resolutions  
  Compiled Statutes  
  Public Acts  
  Legislative Reports  
  IL Constitution  
  Legislative Guide  
  Legislative Glossary  

 Search By Number
 (example: HB0001)
Search Tips

Search By Keyword

Illinois Compiled Statutes

 ILCS Listing   Public Acts  Search   Guide   Disclaimer

Information maintained by the Legislative Reference Bureau
Updating the database of the Illinois Compiled Statutes (ILCS) is an ongoing process. Recent laws may not yet be included in the ILCS database, but they are found on this site as Public Acts soon after they become law. For information concerning the relationship between statutes and Public Acts, refer to the Guide.

Because the statute database is maintained primarily for legislative drafting purposes, statutory changes are sometimes included in the statute database before they take effect. If the source note at the end of a Section of the statutes includes a Public Act that has not yet taken effect, the version of the law that is currently in effect may have already been removed from the database and you should refer to that Public Act to see the changes made to the current law.

210 ILCS 150/18

    (210 ILCS 150/18)
    Sec. 18. Unused medications at the scene of a death.
    (a) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the Illinois State Police may by rule authorize State Police officers to dispose of any unused medications found at the scene of a death the State Police officer is investigating. A State Police officer may only dispose of any unused medications under this subsection after consulting with any other investigating law enforcement agency to ensure that the unused medications will not be needed as evidence in any investigation. This Section shall not apply to any unused medications a State Police officer takes into custody as part of any investigation into a crime.
    (b) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, a local governmental agency may authorize police officers to dispose of any unused medications found at the scene of a death a police officer is investigating. A police officer may only dispose of any unused medications under this subsection after consulting with any other investigating law enforcement agency to ensure that the unused medications will not be needed as evidence in any investigation. This Section shall not apply to any unused medications a police officer takes into custody as part of any investigation into a crime.
    (c) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, a coroner or medical examiner may dispose of any unused medications found at the scene of a death the coroner or medical examiner is investigating. A coroner or medical examiner may only dispose of any unused medications under this subsection after consulting with any investigating law enforcement agency to ensure that the unused medications will not be needed as evidence in any investigation.
    (d) Any disposal under this Section shall be in accordance with Section 17 of this Act or another State or federally approved medication take-back program or location.
    (e) This Section shall not apply to prescription drugs for which the United States Food and Drug Administration created a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy for under the Food and Drug Administration Amendments Act of 2007.
    (f) Nothing in this Section shall be construed to require a search of the scene for unused medications.
    (g) Prior to disposal of any medication collected as evidence in a criminal investigation under this Section, a State Police officer, police officer, coroner, or medical examiner shall photograph the unused medication and its container or packaging, if available; document the number or amount of medication to be disposed; and include the photographs and documentation in the police report, coroner report, or medical examiner report.
    (h) If an autopsy is performed as part of a death investigation, no medication seized under this Section shall be disposed of until after a toxicology report is received by the entity requesting the report.
    (i) If a police officer, State Police officer, coroner, or medical examiner is not present at the scene of a death, a nurse may dispose of any unused medications found at the scene of a death the nurse is present at while engaging in the performance of his or her duties. A nurse may dispose of any unused medications under this subsection only after consulting with any investigating law enforcement agency to ensure that the unused medications will not be needed as evidence in an investigation.
    (j) When an individual authorized to dispose of unused medication under this Section disposes of unused medication under this Section in good faith, the individual, and his or her employer, employees, and agents, shall incur no criminal liability or professional discipline.
(Source: P.A. 102-538, eff. 8-20-21.)