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Senate amends and passes measure to criminalize measurable amounts of parent drug in bloodstream; debate over testing and enforcement
Summary
Senators passed House Bill 311 after adopting a friendly amendment clarifying the statute targets the parent drug rather than metabolites; floor debate focused on evidentiary standards, field testing limits and possible overlap with existing DUI statutes.
House Bill 311, a controlled‑substance law amendment carried in the Senate by Senator Bell, passed the Senate on March 2, 2005, after a contentious floor debate and adoption of a friendly amendment clarifying the bill targets the parent drug, not metabolites.
Senator Bell, the floor sponsor, described the measure as a definitional clarification to address legal gaps in prosecuting consumption of controlled substances and to ensure that possession/consumption can be proven when appropriate: “...we are dealing with part of the statute that is definitional.” He explained the bill is framed to require proof beyond a metabolite and to focus on a measurable…
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