(a) No person shall knowingly obtain, possess or use a controlled substance.
(b) Subsection (a) hereof does not apply to the following:
(1) Manufacturers, practitioners, pharmacists, owners of pharmacies and other persons whose conduct was in accordance with R.C. Chapters 3719, 4715, 4729, 4731 and 4741;
(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 amended, and is sold, offered for sale, prescribed, dispensed or administered for that purpose in accordance with that Act; and
(4) Any person who obtained the controlled substance pursuant to a prescription issued by a licensed health professional authorized to prescribe drugs.
(c) Whoever violates this section is guilty of drug abuse and shall be sentenced as follows:
(1) If the drug involved is a compound, mixture, preparation or substance included in Schedule III, IV or V, with the exception of an anabolic steroid, drug abuse is a misdemeanor of the third degree, and if the offender previously has been convicted of a drug abuse offense, drug abuse is a misdemeanor of the second degree.
(2) If the drug involved is marihuana, and the amount of marihuana in any form except extract is greater than two and one-half ounces but is less than 200 grams or the amount of marihuana in the form of extract is greater than fifteen grams but is less than thirty grams, drug abuse is a minor misdemeanor.
(3) If the drug involved is an anabolic steroid included in Schedule III, drug abuse is a misdemeanor of the third degree and, in lieu of sentencing an offender to a definite or indefinite term of imprisonment in a detention facility, the court may place the offender on conditional probation pursuant to R.C. § 2925.11(G) or 2951.02(H), unless the offender previously has been convicted of a drug abuse offense, in which case drug abuse is a misdemeanor of the second degree.
(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 the fines otherwise required to be imposed pursuant to Section 501.99, for violations of this section, and notwithstanding R.C. § 2929.22, the court shall impose a mandatory fine of seven hundred fifty dollars ($750.00) if the violation of this section was a misdemeanor of the second degree, a mandatory fine of five hundred dollars ($500.00) if the violation of this section was a misdemeanor of the third degree, a mandatory fine of two hundred fifty dollars ($250.00) if the violation of this section was a misdemeanor of the fourth degree, and a mandatory fine of one hundred dollars ($100.00) if the violation of this section was a minor misdemeanor.
(2) The court may impose a fine in addition to a mandatory fine imposed pursuant to paragraph (e)(1) hereof if the total of the additional and mandatory fines does not exceed the maximum fine that could be imposed pursuant to Section 501.99.
(3) Notwithstanding any contrary provision of R.C. § 2925.11 or 3719.21, fifty percent of any mandatory fine imposed pursuant to paragraph (e)(1) hereof shall be paid by the clerk of the court into the Law Enforcement Trust Fund of the municipality required to be established by R.C. § 2933.43(D)(1)(c) and fifty percent shall be paid into the General Fund of the municipality. Any additional fine imposed pursuant to paragraph (e)(2) hereof shall be disbursed by the clerk of the court as otherwise provided by law.
(4) If a person is charged with any violation of this section and posts bail pursuant to R.C. §§ 2937.22 to 2937.46 or Rule 46 of the Ohio Rules of Criminal Procedure, 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, paragraph (e)(3) hereof.
(5) No court shall impose a mandatory fine pursuant to paragraph (e)(1) hereof upon an offender who alleges, in an affidavit filed with the court prior to his or her sentencing, that he or she is indigent and is unable to pay any mandatory fine imposed pursuant to such paragraph, if the court determines the offender is an indigent person and is unable to pay the fine.
(f) In addition to the penalties provided in this section, the court may proceed as provided in R.C. § 2925.1l(F) through (H) and the State Registrar of Motor Vehicles shall proceed as provided in R.C. § 4507.169.
(Ord. 40-2023. Passed 5-6-24.)