The licensing provisions of this chapter shall not apply to any of the following:
(a) Any pharmacy that maintains establishments in conformance with provisions of the Pharmacy Law, Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 4000) of Division 2 of the Business and Professions Code, regulating the practice of pharmacy, and that is regularly engaged in dispensing prescription drugs or devices, upon prescriptions of any person licensed to administer the drugs or devices to patients under the care of the person in the course of his or her professional practice, and that does not manufacture, prepare, propagate, compound, or process drugs or devices for sale other than in the regular course of his or her business of dispensing or selling drugs or devices at retail.
(b) Any pharmacy that solely engages in providing drugs or devices to a person licensed by law to administer the drug or device for his or her use in the course of his or her professional practice.
(c) Any pharmacy that solely provides drugs or devices to another pharmacy in order to meet a temporary inventory shortage.
(d) Any person who is licensed by law to prescribe or administer drugs or devices and who manufactures, prepares, propagates, compounds, or processes drugs or devices solely for use in the course of his or her professional practice.
(e) Any person who manufactures, prepares, propagates, compounds, or processes any drug or device solely for use in nonclinical research, teaching, or chemical analysis and not for sale.
(f) Any wholesaler, as defined in Section 4038 of the Business and Professions Code.
(g) Any such other class of persons as the department may by regulation exempt from the application of this article upon a finding that licensing by a class of persons in accordance with this article is not necessary for the protection of the public health.
(h) Any registered dispensing optician licensed pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 5.5 (commencing with Section 2550) of Division 2 of the Business and Professions Code, who is regularly engaged in dispensing or selling prescription lenses and frames, and not engaged in the manufacture, preparation, processing or assembling of lenses or frames for sale other than in the regular course of his or her business of dispensing or selling lenses or frames at retail.
(Added by Stats. 1995, Ch. 415, Sec. 6. Effective January 1, 1996.)