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U.S. Code as of:
01/19/04
Section 844. Penalties for simple possession
(a) Unlawful acts; penalties
It shall be unlawful for any person knowingly or intentionally to
possess a controlled substance unless such substance was obtained
directly, or pursuant to a valid prescription or order, from a
practitioner, while acting in the course of his professional
practice, or except as otherwise authorized by this subchapter or
subchapter II of this chapter. It shall be unlawful for any person
knowingly or intentionally to possess any list I chemical obtained
pursuant to or under authority of a registration issued to that
person under section 823 of this title or section 958 of this title
if that registration has been revoked or suspended, if that
registration has expired, or if the registrant has ceased to do
business in the manner contemplated by his registration. Any person
who violates this subsection may be sentenced to a term of
imprisonment of not more than 1 year, and shall be fined a minimum
of $1,000, or both, except that if he commits such offense after a
prior conviction under this subchapter or subchapter II of this
chapter, or a prior conviction for any drug, narcotic, or chemical
offense chargeable under the law of any State, has become final, he
shall be sentenced to a term of imprisonment for not less than 15
days but not more than 2 years, and shall be fined a minimum of
$2,500, except, further, that if he commits such offense after two
or more prior convictions under this subchapter or subchapter II of
this chapter, or two or more prior convictions for any drug,
narcotic, or chemical offense chargeable under the law of any
State, or a combination of two or more such offenses have become
final, he shall be sentenced to a term of imprisonment for not less
than 90 days but not more than 3 years, and shall be fined a
minimum of $5,000. Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, a person
convicted under this subsection for the possession of a mixture or
substance which contains cocaine base shall be imprisoned not less
than 5 years and not more than 20 years, and fined a minimum of
$1,000, if the conviction is a first conviction under this
subsection and the amount of the mixture or substance exceeds 5
grams, if the conviction is after a prior conviction for the
possession of such a mixture or substance under this subsection
becomes final and the amount of the mixture or substance exceeds 3
grams, or if the conviction is after 2 or more prior convictions
for the possession of such a mixture or substance under this
subsection become final and the amount of the mixture or substance
exceeds 1 gram. Notwithstanding any penalty provided in this
subsection, any person convicted under this subsection for the
possession of flunitrazepam shall be imprisoned for not more than 3
years, shall be fined as otherwise provided in this section, or
both. The imposition or execution of a minimum sentence required to
be imposed under this subsection shall not be suspended or
deferred. Further, upon conviction, a person who violates this
subsection shall be fined the reasonable costs of the investigation
and prosecution of the offense, including the costs of prosecution
of an offense as defined in sections 1918 and 1920 of title 28,
except that this sentence shall not apply and a fine under this
section need not be imposed if the court determines under the
provision of title 18 that the defendant lacks the ability to pay.
(b) Repealed. Pub. L. 98-473, title II, Sec. 219(a), Oct. 12, 1984,
98 Stat. 2027
(c) "Drug, narcotic, or chemical offense" defined
As used in this section, the term "drug, narcotic, or chemical
offense" means any offense which proscribes the possession,
distribution, manufacture, cultivation, sale, transfer, or the
attempt or conspiracy to possess, distribute, manufacture,
cultivate, sell or transfer any substance the possession of which
is prohibited under this subchapter.
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