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21 U.S.C. § 863Drug paraphernalia

submitted 36 years ago by Pub. L. 91-513 to r/title-21-FOOD-AND-DRUGS · 545 words · no verdicts yet

in plain englishAI-generated · not legal advice

This law makes it a crime to sell, mail, import, or export drug paraphernalia. Paraphernalia is equipment mainly intended for using illegal drugs, like certain pipes and bongs. Violators face up to three years in prison, a fine, and seizure of the paraphernalia.

(a) It is against the law to sell or offer to sell drug paraphernalia. It is also against the law to mail it, ship it another way across state lines, or send it in or out of the country. (b) A person found guilty under subsection (a) can go to prison for up to three years and pay a fine under title 18. (c) Police must take any drug paraphernalia used in a subsection (a) crime. This happens once the person is found guilty. It goes to the Administrator of General Services. That official can order it destroyed, or let federal, state, or local officials use it to teach people or fight crime. (d) "Drug paraphernalia" means equipment, products, or material mainly meant for making, hiding, or using a banned drug. That drug must be illegal to have under this subchapter. It covers items mainly meant for using marijuana, cocaine, hashish, PCP, meth, or amphetamines. Examples are pipes, water pipes, roach clips, chillums, bongs, ice pipes, and cocaine kits. (e) Several things may help decide if an item is drug paraphernalia. These include instructions or ads about how to use it. They also include how the item is shown for sale, and if the seller also sells other, similar goods. Other things are how much of total sales come from the item, whether it has real uses nearby, and expert opinions. (f) This section does not cover anyone the law allows to make, have, or hand out such items. It also does not cover items normally used with tobacco that are lawfully brought in, sent out, moved, or sold.

facts

- Codified at 21 U.S.C. § 863, titled "Drug paraphernalia," within the Controlled Substances Act framework. - Originally enacted as Pub. L. 91–513, title II, § 422, added by Pub. L. 101–647, title XXIV, § 2401(a)–(c), on November 29, 1990 (104 Stat. 4858, 4859). - Subsequently amended by Pub. L. 106–310, div. B, title XXXVI, § 3614, October 17, 2000 (114 Stat. 1230). - The section comprises 545 words and reflects a total of three amendments. - Contains six subsections (a)–(f) covering prohibited acts, penalties, forfeiture, definitions, evidentiary factors, and exemptions.
the actual law source: uscode.house.gov ↗public domain
(a) In general

It is unlawful for any person

(1)

to sell or offer for sale drug paraphernalia;

(2)

to use the mails or any other facility of interstate commerce to transport drug paraphernalia; or

(3)

to import or export drug paraphernalia.

(b) Penalties

Anyone convicted of an offense under subsection (a) of this section shall be imprisoned for not more than three years and fined under title 18.

(c) Seizure and forfeiture

Any drug paraphernalia involved in any violation of subsection (a) of this section shall be subject to seizure and forfeiture upon the conviction of a person for such violation. Any such paraphernalia shall be delivered to the Administrator of General Services, General Services Administration, who may order such paraphernalia destroyed or may authorize its use for law enforcement or educational purposes by Federal, State, or local authorities.

(d) “Drug paraphernalia” defined

The term “drug paraphernalia” means any equipment, product, or material of any kind which is primarily intended or designed for use in manufacturing, compounding, converting, concealing, producing, processing, preparing, injecting, ingesting, inhaling, or otherwise introducing into the human body a controlled substance, possession of which is unlawful under this subchapter. It includes items primarily intended or designed for use in ingesting, inhaling, or otherwise introducing marijuana,1 cocaine, hashish, hashish oil, PCP, methamphetamine, or amphetamines into the human body, such as—

(1)

metal, wooden, acrylic, glass, stone, plastic, or ceramic pipes with or without screens, permanent screens, hashish heads, or punctured metal bowls;

(2)

water pipes;

(3)

carburetion tubes and devices;

(4)

smoking and carburetion masks;

(5)

roach clips: meaning objects used to hold burning material, such as a marihuana cigarette, that has become too small or too short to be held in the hand;

(6)

miniature spoons with level capacities of one-tenth cubic centimeter or less;

(7)

chamber pipes;

(8)

carburetor pipes;

(9)

electric pipes;

(10)

air-driven pipes;

(11)

chillums;

(12)

bongs;

(13)

ice pipes or chillers;

(14)

wired cigarette papers; or

(15)

cocaine freebase kits.

(e) Matters considered in determination of what constitutes drug paraphernalia

In determining whether an item constitutes drug paraphernalia, in addition to all other logically relevant factors, the following may be considered:

(1)

instructions, oral or written, provided with the item concerning its use;

(2)

descriptive materials accompanying the item which explain or depict its use;

(3)

national and local advertising concerning its use;

(4)

the manner in which the item is displayed for sale;

(5)

whether the owner, or anyone in control of the item, is a legitimate supplier of like or related items to the community, such as a licensed distributor or dealer of tobacco products;

(6)

direct or circumstantial evidence of the ratio of sales of the item(s) to the total sales of the business enterprise;

(7)

the existence and scope of legitimate uses of the item in the community; and

(8)

expert testimony concerning its use.

(f) Exemptions

This section shall not apply to—

(1)

any person authorized by local, State, or Federal law to manufacture, possess, or distribute such items; or

(2)

any item that, in the normal lawful course of business, is imported, exported, transported, or sold through the mail or by any other means, and traditionally intended for use with tobacco products, including any pipe, paper, or accessory.

Source credit: (Pub. L. 91–513, title II, § 422, as added and amended Pub. L. 101–647, title XXIV, § 2401(a)–(c), Nov. 29, 1990, 104 Stat. 4858, 4859; Pub. L. 106–310, div. B, title XXXVI, § 3614, Oct. 17, 2000, 114 Stat. 1230.)

history & why it existsrecord from the source credit
  • 1990Enacted · Pub. L. 91-513 · 104 Stat. 4858, 4859
  • 2000Amended · Pub. L. 106-310 · 114 Stat. 1230
The source credit indicates that this section was added to the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970 (Pub. L. 91–513) as title II, § 422, by Pub. L. 101–647, title XXIV, § 2401(a)–(c), enacted November 29, 1990, and published at 104 Stat. 4858–4859. The credit further shows that the provision was subsequently amended by Pub. L. 106–310, div. B, title XXXVI, § 3614, enacted October 17, 2000, 114 Stat. 1230. Altogether, the record reflects one enacting act and at least one later amending act, for a total of three recorded legislative actions affecting the section's text. Historical context: Pub. L. 101–647 was a large omnibus crime measure, commonly known as the Crime Control Act of 1990, which addressed a range of criminal justice matters. Provisions targeting "drug paraphernalia" are generally understood to reflect a broader federal effort, dating from the 1980s and continuing into the 1990s, to curb the sale and distribution of items associated with illegal drug use as part of the wider "war on drugs." The commonly cited purpose of such paraphernalia statutes was to close a perceived gap in drug-control law by reaching commercial actors who supplied equipment facilitating drug use, even where they were not directly involved in manufacturing or distributing controlled substances themselves. Beyond this general understanding, the record does not establish the specific legislative reasoning behind § 422's particular provisions, including its definitions, exemptions, or the 2000 amendment, and no further detail should be inferred.

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