Nebraska lawmakers continue to push for marijuana legislation this session.
Last month, the Nebraska Legislature Judiciary Committee heard six bills relating to the legalization and decriminalization of marijuana.
Substance Possession Penalties
State senators are considering a bill to change the penalty for controlled substance possession. Legislative Bill 287 was introduced by Sen. Justin Wayne of Omaha to lessen penalties for possession of unusable amounts of controlled substances under the Uniform Controlled Substances Act.
Possession of a controlled substance that was only residue would be changed from a Class IV felony to a Class I misdemeanor. If a controlled substance would consist of more than residue, a person would still be guilty of a Class IV felony.
The bill defines residue depending on the way a substance is sold. The substance must be considered an unusable amount to be classified as residue.
Wayne foresees opposition to the amount being determined by weight and plans to work with county attorneys in order to determine a solid way to classify what is considered usable or not.
Joe Nigro, a Lancaster County public defender, testified in favor of the bill.
Felony files have been increasing over the last four years. This has been largely driven by an increase of files considering the possession of small amounts or residue of controlled substances according to Nigro.
“I don’t believe the drug use has increased over the last number of years,” he…
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Nebraska lawmakers continue to push for marijuana legislation this session.
Last month, the Nebraska Legislature Judiciary Committee heard six bills relating to the legalization and decriminalization of marijuana.
Substance Possession Penalties
State senators are considering a bill to change the penalty for controlled substance possession. Legislative Bill 287 was introduced by Sen. Justin Wayne of Omaha to lessen penalties for possession of unusable amounts of controlled substances under the Uniform Controlled Substances Act.
Possession of a controlled substance that was only residue would be changed from a Class IV felony to a Class I misdemeanor. If a controlled substance would consist of more than residue, a person would still be guilty of a Class IV felony.
The bill defines residue depending on the way a substance is sold. The substance must be considered an unusable amount to be classified as residue.
Wayne foresees opposition to the amount being determined by weight and plans to work with county attorneys in order to determine a solid way to classify what is considered usable or not.
Joe Nigro, a Lancaster County public defender, testified in favor of the bill.
Felony files have been increasing over the last four years. This has been largely driven by an increase of files considering the possession of small amounts or residue of controlled substances according to Nigro.
“I don’t believe the drug use has increased over the last number of years,” he…
