PLEASE NOTE: Legislative Information cannot perform research, provide legal advice, or interpret Maine law. For legal assistance, please contact a qualified attorney.
An Act To Increase Potential Criminal Penalties for the Possession of Cocaine and Cocaine Base
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 17-A MRSA §1107-A, sub-§1, ¶B, as amended by PL 2007, c. 476, §43, is further amended to read:
 
B. A schedule W drug that contains:
 
(1) Heroin (diacetylmorphine);
 
(2) Cocaine or cocaine in the form of cocaine base and at the time of the offense the person has one or more prior convictions for any offense under this chapter or for engaging in substantially similar conduct to that of the Maine offenses under this chapter in another jurisdiction. For the purposes of this paragraph, a person has been convicted of an offense on the date the judgment of conviction was entered by the court;
 
(3) Methamphetamine;
 
(4) Oxycodone;
 
(5) Hydrocodone; or
 
(6) Hydromorphone.
 
Violation of this paragraph is a Class C crime;
 
SUMMARY
Under existing law, possession of 14 grams or less of cocaine is a Class D crime. This bill provides that possession of cocaine in any amount is at least a Class C crime.
Additionally, under existing law, possession of 4 grams or less of cocaine in the form of cocaine base, also known as "crack" cocaine, is a Class D crime when the State has not proven that the offender has a prior drug conviction, but rises to a Class C crime when the State has proven that the offender does have a prior drug conviction. The bill provides that possession of crack cocaine is at least a Class C crime even when the State has not proven that the offender has had a previous drug conviction.