WEST virginia legislature
2020 regular session
Introduced
House Bill 4765
By Delegates C. Thompson, S. Brown, Angelucci, Sponaugle, Lavender-Bowe, Dean and Pyles
[Introduced February 10, 2020; Referred to the Committee on Health and Human Resources then the Judiciary]
A BILL to amend and reenact §60A-4-401 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to reducing the criminal penalty for possession of small amounts of marijuana or paraphernal designed for smoking or other use of marijuana.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
ARTICLE 4. OFFENSES AND PENALTIES.
§60A-4-401. Prohibited acts A; penalties.
(a) Except as authorized by this act, it is unlawful for any person to manufacture, deliver, or possess with intent to manufacture or deliver, a controlled substance.
Any person who violates this subsection with respect to:
(i) A controlled substance
classified in Schedule I or II, which is a narcotic drug, is guilty of a felony
and, upon conviction, may be imprisoned in the a state
correctional facility for not less than one year nor more than 15 years, or
fined not more than $25,000, or both fined and imprisoned;
(ii) Any other controlled
substance classified in Schedule I, II or III is guilty of a felony and, upon
conviction, may be imprisoned in the a state correctional
facility for not less than one year nor more than five years, or fined not more
than $15,000, or both fined and imprisoned;
(iii) A substance
classified in Schedule IV is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, may be
imprisoned in the a state correctional facility for not less than
one year nor more than three years, or fined not more than $10,000, or both fined
and imprisoned;
(iv) A substance classified
in Schedule V is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, may be confined
in jail for not less than six months nor more than one year, or fined not more
than $5,000, or both fined and confined: Provided, That for
offenses relating to any substance classified as Schedule V in §60A-10-1 et
seq. of this code, the penalties established in said that article
apply.
(b) Except as authorized by this act, it is unlawful for any person to create, deliver, or possess with intent to deliver, a counterfeit substance.
Any person who violates this subsection with respect to:
(i) A counterfeit substance
classified in Schedule I or II, which is a narcotic drug, is guilty of a felony
and, upon conviction, may be imprisoned in the a state
correctional facility for not less than one year nor more than 15 years, or
fined not more than $25,000, or both fined and imprisoned;
(ii) Any other counterfeit
substance classified in Schedule I, II or III is guilty of a felony and, upon
conviction, may be imprisoned in the a state correctional
facility for not less than one year nor more than five years, or fined not more
than $15,000, or both fined and imprisoned;
(iii) A counterfeit
substance classified in Schedule IV is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction,
may be imprisoned in the a state correctional facility for not
less than one year nor more than three years, or fined not more than $10,000,
or both fined and imprisoned;
(iv) A counterfeit
substance classified in Schedule V is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon
conviction, may be confined in jail for not less than six months nor more than
one year, or fined not more than $5,000, or both fined and confined: Provided,
That for offenses relating to any substance classified as Schedule V in §60A-10-1
et seq. of this code, the penalties established in said that
article apply.
(c) It is unlawful for any
person knowingly or intentionally to possess a controlled substance unless the
substance was obtained directly from, or pursuant to, a valid prescription or
order of a practitioner while acting in the course of his professional
practice, or except as otherwise authorized by this act. Any person who
violates this subsection is guilty of a misdemeanor and, disposition may be
made under §60A-10-407 of this code, subject to the limitations specified in
said section, or upon conviction, such the person may be confined
in jail not less than 90 days nor more than six months, or fined not more than $1,000,
or both fined and confined: Provided, That notwithstanding any
other provision of this act to the contrary, any first offense for possession
of Synthetic Cannabinoids as defined by §60A-1-101(d)(32) of this code;
3,4-methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MPVD)and 3,4-methylenedioxypyrovalerone and/or
mephedrone as defined in §60A-1-101(f) of this code; or less than 15 grams of
marijuana, shall be disposed of under said that section: Provided,
however, That notwithstanding any other provision of this act to the
contrary, any person who possesses 15 grams of marijuana or less, or
paraphernalia that may be used for smoking or otherwise using marijuana, is
guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined an amount
not to exceed $500 or shall be confined in jail, or, in the case of a juvenile,
a detention facility, for a period not to exceed 72 hours, or both fined and
confined or, in lieu of fine and confinement, may, for the first offense, be
placed on probation for a period not to exceed one year. Any person convicted
under this section may be sentenced pursuant to §62-11A-1a of this code.
(d) It is unlawful for any person knowingly or intentionally:
(1) To create, distribute or deliver, or possess with intent to distribute or deliver, an imitation controlled substance; or
(2) To create, possess or sell or otherwise transfer any equipment with the intent that such equipment shall be used to apply a trademark, trade name, or other identifying mark, imprint, number or device, or any likeness thereof, upon a counterfeit substance, an imitation controlled substance, or the container or label of a counterfeit substance or an imitation controlled substance.
(3) Any person who violates
this subsection is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, may be imprisoned
confined in jail for not less than six months nor more than one year, or
fined not more than $5,000, or both fined and confined. Any person being
18 years old or more who violates subdivision (1) of this subsection and, in so
doing, distributes or delivers an imitation controlled substance to a minor
child who is at least three years younger than such that person is
guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, may be imprisoned in the a
state correctional facility for not less than one year nor more than three
years, or fined not more than $10,000, or both fined and imprisoned.
(4) The provisions of
subdivision (1) of this subsection shall may not apply to a
practitioner who administers or dispenses a placebo.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to reduce the criminal penalty for possession of small amounts of marijuana or paraphernal designed for smoking or other use of marijuana.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.