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WEST virginia legislature
2024 regular session
Committee Substitute
for
Senate Bill 269
By Senators Deeds, Grady, Takubo, Stuart, Trump, Caputo, Swope, Hunt, and Woelfel
[Originating in the Committee on the Judiciary; reported January 17, 2024]
A BILL to amend and reenact §47-19-3 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended; and to repeal §60A-4-403a of said code, relating to excluding test strips from the definition of drug paraphernalia; and specifying that possession, sale, or purchase of drug test strips is not prohibited.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
(a) The following items, if marketed for use or designed for the use with controlled substances, are considered drug paraphernalia for the purpose stated in §47-19-1 et seq. of this code:
(1) Kits marketed for use, or designed for use in planting, propagating, cultivating, growing, or harvesting of any species of plant which is a controlled substance or from which a controlled substance can be derived;
(2) Kits marketed for use, or designed for use in manufacturing, compounding, converting, producing, processing, or preparing controlled substances;
(3) Isomerization devices marketed for use, or designed for use in increasing the potency of any species of plant which is a controlled substance;
(4) Testing equipment marketed for use, or designed for use in identifying, or in analyzing the strength, effectiveness, or purity of controlled substances: Provided, That fentanyl test strips shall are not be considered drug paraphernalia for the purpose stated in §47-19-1 et seq. of this code;
(5) Scales and balances used, intended for use, or designed for use in weighing or measuring controlled substances;
(6) Diluents and adulterants, such as quinine hydrochloride, mannitol, mannite, dextrose and lactose, marketed for use, or designed for use in cutting controlled substances;
(7) Separation gins and sifters marketed for use, or designed for use in removing twigs and seeds from, or in otherwise cleaning or refining, marijuana;
(8) Blenders, bowls, containers, spoons, and mixing devices used, intended for use, or designed for use in compounding controlled substances;
(9) Capsules, balloons, envelopes, and other containers marketed for use, or designed for use in packaging small quantities of controlled substances;
(10) Hypodermic syringes, needles, and other objects marketed for use, or designed for use in parenterally injecting controlled substances into the human body;
(11) Paper of colorful design, with names oriented for use with controlled dangerous substances and displayed: Provided, That white paper or tobacco-oriented paper not necessarily designed for use with controlled substances is not covered;
(12) Pipes displayed in the proximity of roach clips, or literature encouraging illegal use of controlled substances, are covered by this article: Provided, That pipes otherwise displayed are not covered by this article;
(13) Roach clips: Meaning objects used to hold burning material, such as a marijuana cigarette, that have become too small or too short to be held in the hand;
(14) Miniature cocaine spoons and cocaine vials; or and
(15) Chillums or bongs.
(b) In determining whether an object is marketed for use or designed for use as drug paraphernalia, the State Tax Commissioner or other authority should consider the following:
(1) The proximity of the object, in time and space, to a controlled substance;
(2) The existence of any residue of controlled substances on the object;
(3) Instructions, oral or written, provided with the object concerning its use;
(4) Descriptive materials accompanying the object which explain or depict its use;
(5) National and local advertising concerning its use;
(6) The manner in which the object is displayed for sale;
(7) Whether the owner, or anyone in control of the object, is a legitimate supplier of like or related items to the community, such as a licensed distributor or dealer of tobacco products;
(8) Direct or circumstantial evidence of the ratio of sales of the object or objects to the total sales of the business enterprise; and
(9) The existence and scope of legitimate uses for the object in the community.
[Repealed.]
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