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Senate advances bill to criminalize "consumption" by measurable amount after Ireland decision; floor raises testing and fairness concerns
Summary
After debate, the Senate moved HB 311 to third reading. The bill changes the definition of 'consumption' to include having a measurable amount of a controlled substance in the body, closing an evidentiary gap created by the Ireland court decision; senators raised concerns about false positives, interstate medical marijuana, and the absence of a measurable impairment threshold.
Senator Bell, sponsor of House Bill 311, said the measure responds to the State v. Ireland decision that the Court of Appeals interpreted to exclude substances in the body or stomach from possession calculations. The bill rewrites the definition of “consumption” to include having “any measurable amount of a controlled substance in a person's body,” enabling prosecutors to include consumed substances in possession counts subject to proof and defenses.
“It's really no different whether he has it in his pocket,…
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