§ 138.10. Drug abuse.

A.

No person shall knowingly obtain, possess, or use a controlled substance.

B.

This section does not apply to the following:

1.

Manufacturers, practitioners, pharmacists, owners of pharmacies, and other persons whose conduct was in accordance with Chapters 3719, 4715, 4729, 4731, and 4741 or § 4723.56 of the Revised Code;

2.

If the offense involves an anabolic steroid, any person who is conducting or participating in a research project involving the use of an anabolic steroid if the project has been approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration;

3.

Any person who sells, offers for sale, prescribes, dispenses, or administers for livestock or other nonhuman species an anabolic steroid that is expressly intended for administration through implants to livestock or other nonhuman species and approved for that purpose under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, 52 Stat. 1040 (1938), 21 U.S.C.A. 301, as may be amended, and is sold, offered for sale, prescribed, dispensed, or administered for that purpose in accordance with that Act;

4.

Any person who obtained the controlled substance pursuant to a prescription issued by a practitioner, where the drug is in the original container in which it was dispensed to the person;

C.

Whoever violates subsection A of this section is guilty of one of the following:

1.

If the drug involved in the violation is a compound, mixture, preparation, or substance included in Schedule III, IV, or V, whoever violates subsection A of this section is guilty of possession of drugs, a misdemeanor of the third degree. If the offender previously has been convicted of a drug abuse offense, possession of drugs is a misdemeanor of the second degree. If the amount of the drug involved exceeds the bulk amount, possession of drugs shall be prosecuted under appropriate state law.

2.

If the drug involved in the violation is marihuana, or a compound, mixture, preparation, or substance containing marihuana other than hashish, whoever violates subsection A of this section is guilty of possession of marihuana, a minor misdemeanor. If the amount of the drug involved equals or exceeds one hundred grams but does not exceed two hundred grams, possession of marijuana is a misdemeanor of the fourth degree. If the amount of the drug involved exceeds two hundred grams, possession of marihuana shall be prosecuted under appropriate state law.

D.

Arrest or conviction for a minor misdemeanor violation of this section does not constitute a criminal record and need not be reported by the person so arrested or convicted in response to any inquiries about the person's criminal record, including any inquiries contained in any application for employment, license, or other right or privilege, or made in connection with the person's appearance as a witness.

E.

1.

Notwithstanding Section 130.99 of this code, the Court shall impose a mandatory fine of seven hundred fifty dollars if the violation of this section was a misdemeanor of the second degree, a mandatory fine of five hundred dollars if the violation of this section was a misdemeanor of the third degree, a mandatory fine of two hundred fifty dollars if the violation of this section was a misdemeanor of the fourth degree, and a mandatory fine of one hundred dollars if the violation of this section was a minor misdemeanor.

2.

Notwithstanding any contrary provision of R.C. § 3719.21, fifty percent of any mandatory fine imposed pursuant to subsection (E)(1) of this section shall be paid by the Clerk of the Court in accordance with and subject to the requirements of, and shall be used as specified in, R.C. § 2925.03(H), and fifty percent shall be disbursed as provided in R.C. § 3719.21.

3.

If a person is charged with any violation of this section and posts bail pursuant to R.C. §§ 2937.22 to 2937.46 or Criminal Rule 46, and if the person forfeits the bail, the forfeited bail shall be paid by the Clerk of the Court in accordance with and subject to the requirements of, and shall be used as specified in, subsection (E)(2) of this section.

4.

No court shall impose a mandatory fine pursuant to subsection (E)(1) of this section upon an offender who alleges, in an affidavit filed with the court prior to his sentencing, that he is indigent and is unable to pay any mandatory fine imposed pursuant to that subsection, if the court determines the offender is an indigent person and is unable to pay the fine.

F.

1.

In addition to any other sanction imposed for a violation of this section, the Court may suspend for not more than five years the driver's or commercial driver's license of any person who is convicted of or has pleaded guilty to a violation of this section.

2.

If the offender is a professionally licensed person or a person who has been admitted to the bar by order of the Supreme Court in compliance with its prescribed and published rules, in addition to any other penalty imposed for a violation of this section, the Court forthwith shall comply with R.C. § 2925.38.

G.

Any offender who received a mandatory suspension of the offender's driver's license or permit under this section, prior to September 13, 2016, may file a motion with the sentencing court requesting termination of the suspension. Upon the filing of such motion, the sentencing court, in its discretion, may terminate the suspension. Penalty, see § 130.99.

(Ord. 514-1997; Ord. 671-1993)

(Ord. 255-2016)