KANSAS OFFICE of
  REVISOR of STATUTES

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21-5706. Unlawful possession of controlled substances. (a) It shall be unlawful for any person to possess any opiates, opium or narcotic drugs, or any stimulant designated in K.S.A. 65-4107(d)(1), (d)(3) or (f)(1), and amendments thereto, or a controlled substance analog thereof.

(b) It shall be unlawful for any person to possess any of the following controlled substances or controlled substance analogs thereof:

(1) Any depressant designated in K.S.A. 65-4105(e), 65-4107(e), 65-4109(b) or (c) or 65-4111(b), and amendments thereto;

(2) any stimulant designated in K.S.A. 65-4105(f), 65-4107(d)(2), (d)(4), (d)(5) or (f)(2) or 65-4109(e), and amendments thereto;

(3) any hallucinogenic drug designated in K.S.A. 65-4105(d), 65-4107(g) or 65-4109(g), and amendments thereto;

(4) any substance designated in K.S.A. 65-4105(g) and 65-4111(c), (d), (e), (f) or (g), and amendments thereto;

(5) any anabolic steroids as defined in K.S.A. 65-4109(f), and amendments thereto;

(6) any substance designated in K.S.A. 65-4113, and amendments thereto; or

(7) any substance designated in K.S.A. 65-4105(h), and amendments thereto.

(c) (1) Violation of subsection (a) is a drug severity level 5 felony.

(2) Except as provided in subsection (c)(3):

(A) Violation of subsection (b) is a class A nonperson misdemeanor, except as provided in subparagraph (B); and

(B) violation of subsection (b)(1) through (b)(5) or (b)(7) is a drug severity level 5 felony if that person has a prior conviction under such subsection, under K.S.A. 65-4162, prior to its repeal, under a substantially similar offense from another jurisdiction, or under any city ordinance or county resolution for a substantially similar offense if the substance involved was 3, 4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), marijuana as designated in K.S.A. 65-4105(d), and amendments thereto, or any substance designated in K.S.A. 65-4105(h), and amendments thereto, or an analog thereof.

(3) If the substance involved is marijuana, as designated in K.S.A. 65-4105(d), and amendments thereto, or tetrahydrocannabinols, as designated in K.S.A. 65-4105(h), and amendments thereto, violation of subsection (b) is a:

(A) Class B nonperson misdemeanor, except as provided in subparagraphs (B) and (C);

(B) class A nonperson misdemeanor if that person has a prior conviction under such subsection, under K.S.A. 65-4162, prior to its repeal, under a substantially similar offense from another jurisdiction, or under any city ordinance or county resolution for a substantially similar offense; and

(C) drug severity level 5 felony if that person has two or more prior convictions under such subsection, under K.S.A. 65-4162, prior to its repeal, under a substantially similar offense from another jurisdiction, or under any city ordinance or county resolution for a substantially similar offense.

(d) It shall be an affirmative defense to prosecution under this section arising out of a person's possession of any cannabidiol treatment preparation if the person:

(1) Has a debilitating medical condition, as defined in K.S.A. 2024 Supp. 65-6235, and amendments thereto, or is the parent or guardian of a minor child who has such debilitating medical condition;

(2) is possessing a cannabidiol treatment preparation, as defined in K.S.A. 2024 Supp. 65-6235, and amendments thereto, that is being used to treat such debilitating medical condition; and

(3) has possession of a letter, at all times while the person has possession of the cannabidiol treatment preparation, that:

(A) Shall be shown to a law enforcement officer on such officer's request;

(B) is dated within the preceding 15 months and signed by the physician licensed to practice medicine and surgery in Kansas who diagnosed the debilitating medical condition;

(C) is on such physician's letterhead; and

(D) identifies the person or the person's minor child as such physician's patient and identifies the patient's debilitating medical condition.

(e) It shall not be a defense to charges arising under this section that the defendant was acting in an agency relationship on behalf of any other party in a transaction involving a controlled substance or controlled substance analog.

History: L. 2009, ch. 32, § 6; L. 2010, ch. 74, § 3; L. 2011, ch. 83, § 2; L. 2012, ch. 150, § 10; L. 2016, ch. 90, § 1; L. 2018, ch. 112, § 6; L. 2019, ch. 67, § 2; July 1.

Source or Prior Law:

65-4160, 65-4162, 21-36a06.

Attorney General's Opinions:

Unlawful to possess or sell products or substances containing any amount of cannabidiol or tetrahydrocannabinol. 2018-5.

CASE ANNOTATIONS

1. Defendant's guilty pleas and successful completion of suspended imposition sentences in Missouri constituted "convictions" under Kansas law as predicate offenses. State v. Evans, 51 Kan. App. 2d 168, 177, 343 P.3d 122 (2015).

2. The state must set forth the severity level of an offense when charging a crime under a habitual criminal statute, but need not allege prior convictions in its complaint. State v. Gray, 51 Kan. App. 2d 1085, 1102, 360 P.3d 472 (2015).


 



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