Controlled substances, and providing a penalty. (FE)

Penalties for crimes relating to Schedule I controlled substances are generally the most severe, and for Schedule V controlled substances are generally the least severe.

Under current law, eight synthetic cannabinoids and two stimulant substances commonly known as "bath salts" are classified as Schedule I controlled substances.

Current law also penalizes the possession, manufacture, delivery, or distribution of the analogs of these substances. Current law defines a controlled substance analog as a substance that has a chemical structure substantially similar to the chemical structure of a controlled substance in Schedule I or II, and that has a similar effect on the user of the substance as the controlled substance.

Current law also penalizes the manufacture, distribution, or delivery of Salvinorin A, a psychotropic ingredient in the plant Salvia divinorum, but does not classify that substance as a controlled substance.

Under this bill, the concept of an analog of a synthetic cannabinoid or of a bath salt stimulant is replaced with a description of the chemical structure of the prohibited or restricted substance. The bill controls synthetic cannabinoids, certain other designer drugs, and certain substances known as bath salts as part of distinct structural classes. Under the bill, any substance, listed or not, that conforms to the structural definition is controlled by the particular structural class. The bill adds several new hallucinogenic and stimulant substances to Schedule I, and includes Salvinorin A in the list of Schedule I controlled substances.

The bill also adds several new Schedule II, III, IV, and V controlled substances by including in those schedules a description of the chemical structure of those substances.

Because this bill creates a new crime or revises a penalty for an existing crime, the Joint Review Committee on Criminal Penalties may be requested to prepare a report concerning the proposed penalty and the costs or savings that are likely to result if the bill is enacted.