New Jersey State Senator Kevin O’Toole (R-Bergen, Essex, Morris, Passaic) introduced legislation to allow for more efficient prosecution of alleged drug dealers.
The bill eliminates the requirement for a forensic laboratory analysis of apparent unknown or imitation drugs that a defendant is charged with distributing or possessing with the intent to distribute.
“It’s already illegal to deal drugs and imitation controlled dangerous substances, so we don’t need to delay prosecutions by mandating costly testing when police bust dealers or pill rings,” O’Toole said. “The sooner we can lock up perpetrators and get these dangerous substances off the streets, the safer everyone will be. This legislation will also help mitigate processing and testing backlogs that labs are struggling to clear.”
Senator O’Toole’s bill would mean that the prosecution need not discover how much of an illegal CDS that a suspect is selling or carrying to sell is a CDS or imitation CDS. Under current law, it is a third-degree crime to distribute or possess with the intent to distribute any substance which is not a CDS or imitation CDS:
- Upon the express or implied representation to the recipient that the substance is a CDS or CDS analog; or
- Upon the express or implied representation to the recipient that the substance is of such nature, appearance or effect that the recipient will be able to distribute or use the substance as a CDS or CDS analog; or
- Under circumstances which would lead a reasonable person to believe that the substance is a CDS or CDS analog.
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