Senate Bill S3289

                                BILL NUMBER:S3289

TITLE OF BILL:  An act to amend the penal law, in relation to the
possession and sale of methamphetamine

PURPOSE OF BILL:  To amend the penal law, so that the penalties for the
possession and or sale of methamphetamine are similar to that of the
penalties for possession and/or sale of heroin and cocaine.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS; Amends the penal law by adding a new subdivision
9 to section 220.06 making it a Class D felony to possess one or more
preparations, compounds, mixtures or substances containing methampheta-
mine, its salts, isomers or salts of isomers and said preparations,
compounds, mixtures or substances if of an aggregate weight of one
hundred milligrams or more.

Amends subdivision 2 of section 220.09 of the penal law making it a
Class C felony to possess one or more preparations, compounds, mixture
or substances containing methamphetamine, its salts, isomers or salts
isomers and said preparations, compounds, mixtures or substances if an
aggregate weight of one gram or more. Current law makes it a Class felo-
ny for possession of one-half ounce or more of methamphetamine.

Amends subdivision 7 of section 220.16 of the penal law making it a
Class B felony if there is an intent to sell one or more preparations,
compounds, mixtures or substances containing methamphetamine, its salts,
              

isomers or salts of isomers or for the possession of said preparations,
compounds, mixtures or substances of an aggregate weight of one-eighth
ounce or more. Current law requires the intent to sell and possession of
an aggregate weight of one-eighth ounce or more of methamphetamine to be
considered a Class B felony.

Amends the penal law by adding a new subdivision 3 to section 220.21
making it a Class A-J felony to possess one or more preparations,
compounds, mixtures or substances containing methamphetamine, its salt
isomers or salts of isomers and said preparations, compounds, mixtures
or substances if of an aggregate weight of five ounces or more.

Amends subdivision 7 of section 220.39 of the penal law, making the sale
of one or more preparations, compounds, mixtures or substances contain-
ing methamphetamine, its salts, isomers or salts of isomers a Class B
felony. Current law requires the aggregate weight of the methamphetamine
being sold to be one-eighth ounce or more in order to be considered a
Class B felony.

Amends the penal law by adding a new subdivision 3 to section 220.43
making it a Class A-1 felony for the sale of one or more preparations,
compounds, mixtures or substances containing methamphetamine, its salts,
isomers or salts of isomers and said preparations, compounds, mixtures
or substances if of an aggregate weight of two ounces or more.

JUSTIFICATION:  The US Department of Justice National Drug Intelligence
Center has reported domestic methamphetamine availability is at a five
year high, the result of increasing large scale production of the drug
in Mexico and increases in the small scale production in the United
States. For the second consecutive year, seizures of methamphetamine
laboratories in the United States have risen as a result of the preva-
lence of what the US Department of Justice refers to as small scale "one
pot" or "shake and bake" laboratories.

Overall methamphetamine availability is high and increasing, with
seizure, price, and purity levels indicating an increase in availability
or the drug in the US drug markets since 2009. Data available through
the System to Retrieve Information from Drug Evidence (STRIDE) suggest
that as the price of methamphetamine decreases, its use increases, as
indicated by price numbers for the drug in 2009 when it reached its
lowest level since 2005, another year of increased use.

While methamphetamine has traditionally been associated with Western and
Southern regions of the country, its influence, and thus its sale and
possession are moving towards the East Coast. This legislation will make
the penalties for possession and or sale of methamphetamine the same as
that of the possession and/or sale of cocaine and heroin, In doing so
New York State will join neighboring states of Pennsylvania, Ohio, and
Massachusetts in implementing strict methamphetamine laws, and solidi-
fies a preventive block against the drug's use and sale of the North-
eastern part of the US.

Current methamphetamine laws in New York are lax, underestimating a
growing problem and leaving the state vulnerable to its widespread use
and sale. As methamphetamine use and sale moves east and small scale
production increases, this legislation will provide New York's justice
system the means necessary to ensure New York State does not become
grounds for prevalent methamphetamine use. With the average age of an
individual having used methamphetamine in New York State being nineteen
years of age, this legislation is a preventive effort by the State of
New York to deter methamphetamine use and production within its border
and keep its sale off our streets, and protect our children from the
dangerous and potentially its use.

PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: This is a new bill.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: To be determined.

EFFECTIVE DATE:  This bill shall take effect on the first of November
next succeeding the date on which it shall have become law and shall
apply only to offenses committed on or after such date; offenses commit-
ted prior to such date shall be governed by the provisions of law in
effect at the time the offense was committed.