An Act To Resolve Inconsistencies in the Drug Laws
Sec. 1. 17-A MRSA §1107-A, sub-§1, ¶B, as amended by PL 2015, c. 308, §2 and c. 346, §6, is repealed and the following enacted in its place:
(1) Heroin (diacetylmorphine);
(2) Cocaine in the form of cocaine base and at the time of the offense the person had one or more convictions for violating this chapter or for engaging in substantially similar conduct to that of the Maine offenses under this chapter in another jurisdiction;
(3) Methamphetamine;
(4) Oxycodone and the aggregate quantity of pills, capsules, tablets, mixtures or substances is equal to or more than 30 milligrams;
(5) Oxycodone and at the time of the offense the person had one or more convictions for violating this chapter or for engaging in substantially similar conduct to that of the Maine offenses under this chapter in another jurisdiction;
(6) Hydrocodone and at the time of the offense the person had one or more convictions for violating this chapter or for engaging in substantially similar conduct to that of the Maine offenses under this chapter in another jurisdiction;
(7) Hydromorphone and at the time of the offense the person had one or more convictions for violating this chapter or for engaging in substantially similar conduct to that of the Maine offenses under this chapter in another jurisdiction;
(8) Fentanyl powder;
(9) Cocaine and the quantity possessed is 7 grams or more; or
(10) Cocaine in the form of cocaine base and the quantity possessed is 2 grams or more.
Section 9-A governs the use of prior convictions when determining a sentence, except that, for the purposes of this paragraph, the date of a prior conviction may precede the commission of the offense by more than 10 years.
Violation of this paragraph is a Class C crime;
Sec. 2. 17-A MRSA §1107-A, sub-§4, as amended by PL 2011, c. 464, §19, is further amended to read:
SUMMARY
This bill corrects a conflict created by Public Law 2015, chapters 308 and 346, which affected the same provision of law. It repeals the provision and replaces it with a version that provides that a person is guilty of unlawful possession of a scheduled drug and commits a Class C crime if the person intentionally or knowingly possesses what that person knows or believes to be a scheduled drug, which is in fact a scheduled drug, and the drug is a schedule W drug that contains:
1. Heroin;
2. Cocaine in the form of cocaine base, oxycodone, hydrocodone or hydromorphone and at the time of the offense the person had one or more convictions for violating the State's drug laws or for engaging in substantially similar conduct to that of offenses under the State's drug laws in another jurisdiction;
3. Methamphetamine;
4. Oxycodone and the aggregate quantity of pills, capsules, tablets, mixtures or substances is equal to or more than 30 milligrams;
5. Fentanyl powder;
6. Cocaine and the quantity possessed is 7 grams or more; or
7. Cocaine in the form of cocaine base and the quantity possessed is 2 grams or more.