Under present law, it is generally a Class A misdemeanor offense for a person to possess or casually exchange up to one-half ounce of marijuana. Under present law, it is generally a Class E felony offense for a person to knowingly manufacture, deliver, sell, or possess with intent to manufacture, deliver or sell, marijuana in the amount of not less than one-half ounce nor more than 10 pounds of marijuana. Present law classifies the offense that a person commits by a violation of subsection (a) with respect to a Schedule VI controlled substance classified as marijuana containing not less than one-half ounce (14.175 grams) nor more than 10 pounds (4535 grams) of marijuana, or a Schedule VI controlled substance defined as a non-leafy, resinous material containing tetrahydrocannabinol (hashish), containing not more than 2 pounds (905 grams) of hashish is a Class E felony Present law, defines "drug paraphernalia" to include objects used, intended for use, or designed for use in ingesting, inhaling, or otherwise introducing marijuana, marijuana concentrates, or marijuana oil. Under present law, it is generally a: (1) Class A misdemeanor to use, or possess with intent to use drug paraphernalia; (2) Class E felony to deliver, possess with intent to deliver, or manufacture with intent to deliver, drug paraphernalia knowing it will be used to introduce a controlled substance into the human body; and (3) Class A misdemeanor to advertise the sale of drug paraphernalia. This bill generally makes simple possession of up to one ounce of marijuana a civil violation that does not subject an offender to arrest and is subject to a $25.00 fine or up to three hours of community service for an adult offender. If the offender is a minor, the offender will be required to perform up to five hours of community service or complete a drug awareness program. The sale of up to one ounce of marijuana will be a Class A misdemeanor. The threshold for the present law Class E felony for manufacture, delivery, sale, or possession with intent would be increased from one-half ounce to one ounce. This bill removes specific references to marijuana, marijuana concentrates, and marijuana oil from the definition of "drug paraphernalia." This bill defines paraphernalia for the ingestion, use, inhalation, preparation for personal use, or storage of a personal-use quantity of marijuana as a "marijuana accessory." This bill defines "personal-use quantity of marijuana" as: (1) One ounce or less of marijuana; (2) Five grams or less of resin extracted from, or of concentrates derived from, marijuana; and (3) Infused products containing 1,000 milligrams or less of THC. This bill specifies that the odor of marijuana generally does not constitute reasonable suspicion or probable cause but a law enforcement officer may test for impairment based on the odor of marijuana if the officer reasonably suspects the operator of a motor vehicle or boat to be under the influence of marijuana. This bill prohibits the following types of official action against a person based solely on a positive drug test for marijuana metabolites: (1) Revocation of a person's bail, parole, probation, or suspended sentence; (2) Adverse employment action against a government employee; and (3) Referral to a treatment resource or be prohibited from receiving public assistance.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 57-3-207(t), 57-3-207