Tex. Health and Safety Code § 142.044
This is the official text of Tex. Health and Safety Code § 142.044, part of Texas’s Health and Safety Code — covers public health and safety regulation.
Not legal advice. This page reproduces the official text of a government statute for reference only. Laws change, and how a statute applies depends on your specific facts. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.
§ 142.044. AUTHORIZED DISPOSAL.
Official statutory text
(a) If the license holder has complied with Section 142.042(b) with respect to a patient, a health care professional employee who has completed the training under Section 142.043(b) may confiscate and dispose of a patient's controlled substance prescription drug if:
(1) the patient has died;
(2) the drug has expired; or
(3) the patient's physician has given written instructions that the patient should no longer use the drug.
(b) The employee confiscating the controlled substance prescription drug shall dispose of the drug in a manner consistent with recommendations of the United States Food and Drug Administration and the laws of this state.
(c) The disposal of a controlled substance prescription drug under this section must occur at the location at which the drug was confiscated and be witnessed by another person 18 years of age or older.
(d) After disposing of the controlled substance prescription drug, the employee shall document in the patient's record:
(1) the name of the drug;
(2) the dosage of the drug the patient was receiving;
(3) the route of controlled substance prescription drug administration;
(4) the quantity of the controlled substance prescription drug originally dispensed and the quantity of the drug remaining; and
(5) the time, date, and manner of disposal.
(e) An employee shall document in a patient's file if a family member of the patient prevented the confiscation and disposal of a controlled substance prescription drug as authorized under this section.
(1) the patient has died;
(2) the drug has expired; or
(3) the patient's physician has given written instructions that the patient should no longer use the drug.
(b) The employee confiscating the controlled substance prescription drug shall dispose of the drug in a manner consistent with recommendations of the United States Food and Drug Administration and the laws of this state.
(c) The disposal of a controlled substance prescription drug under this section must occur at the location at which the drug was confiscated and be witnessed by another person 18 years of age or older.
(d) After disposing of the controlled substance prescription drug, the employee shall document in the patient's record:
(1) the name of the drug;
(2) the dosage of the drug the patient was receiving;
(3) the route of controlled substance prescription drug administration;
(4) the quantity of the controlled substance prescription drug originally dispensed and the quantity of the drug remaining; and
(5) the time, date, and manner of disposal.
(e) An employee shall document in a patient's file if a family member of the patient prevented the confiscation and disposal of a controlled substance prescription drug as authorized under this section.
Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site
Need a lawyer in Texas?
Find a Texas lawyer
About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the
Open US Law dataset
(Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine
(Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.