Dain Smoland, Attorney at Law PLLC
Criminal Defense in Utah
Dain Smoland, Attorney at Law PLLC
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Shoplifting in Utah and the Consequences – by a Salt Lake Defense Attorney →

The Metaphysics of Utah’s Drug Paraphernalia Act

May 29, 2013 | Filed under: Drug Laws, Marijuana Laws and tagged with: Marijuana, Paraphernalia, Utah State Law

Grain_Sand_Smaller

The Buddhists sometimes say that “the universe exists in a grain of sand” when explaining the concept of interdependence among all things. It seems the Utah legislature was strikingly Buddhist when drafting the Utah Drug Paraphernalia Act, because the way they defined “paraphernalia” makes paraphernalia exist in all things, too.

Under Utah Statute 58-37a-3, drug paraphernalia means “any equipment, product, or material used, or intended for use, to plant, propagate, cultivate, grow, harvest, manufacture, compound, convert, produce, process, prepare, test, analyze, package, repackage, store, contain, conceal, inject, ingest, inhale, or to otherwise introduce a controlled substance into the human body.” Damn.

I had one prosecutor tell me recently that he believes “drug paraphernalia” includes not only the blackened pipe, but the plastic baggie with residue in it, or even the pocket of your jacket, if you’re carrying your pot loose (like all the kids do these days). Given the language of the statute (“…any product or material used . . . to store, contain or conceal”), he might be right. The question, then, is where does such logic reach a stopping point?  Is your car “paraphernalia” if you use it to “store or contain” a controlled substances? I don’t know.

Certainly, any traditional “product or material” in which the controlled substance is found will count: small wooden boxes, film canisters, or [choose your hiding place]. It seems very hard, if not impossible, to be caught with a controlled substance without illegal paraphernalia to store it in. Maybe if you’ve got it in your hand, or your mouth. I believe (or hope, at least) that your hand is not a “material” which turns into paraphernalia when it holds marijuana.

One thing is for sure though, any “material . . . used to plant . . . or grow . . . a controlled substance” becomes illegal paraphernalia under the Utah statute, including–if it became mixed with the potting soil–a single grain of sand.

The Buddhists would be so proud.

 

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Some Posts from My Blog

  • Utah Legislature Temporarily Suspends Expungement Filing Fees!
  • Parolees Become Eligible for 402 Reductions in Utah
  • Utah’s “Clean Slate” Law, and Automatic Expungements
  • Utah Legalizes Medical Marijuana! Kinda! Sort Of!
  • Utah Eases Expungement Eligibility, Especially for Prior Drug Convictions!

Courts Where I Take Cases

I am licensed to practice criminal law anywhere in Utah, but my office is in Salt Lake City so I focus my defense practice on Salt Lake County and the surrounding counties: Weber, Davis, Utah, Summit, Wasatch, Tooele.

That includes any of the state, city, or federal courts located in Salt Lake City, West Jordan, South Jordan, West Valley, Heber, Park City, Provo, Ogden, Farmington, Bountiful, Holladay, Cottonwood Heights, Murray, Millcreek, South Salt Lake, Grantsville, Tooele, Orem, American Fork, Sandy, Draper, Centerville, Layton, Kaysville, and anywhere else within an hour's drive of Salt Lake. I'll also go down to Carbon County (Price and Helper), because I like that drive!

For locations in Utah outside that area, just contact me and we'll talk about it.

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