NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY

1961 SESSION

 

 

CHAPTER 453

HOUSE BILL 208

 

 

AN ACT TO AMEND G.S. 15‑25.1 SO AS TO AUTHORIZE THE USE OF SEARCH WARRANTS IN CONNECTION WITH STIMULANT DRUGS.

 

The General Assembly of North Carolina do enact:

 

Section 1.  G.S. 15‑25.1, as the same appears in the 1959 Cumulative Supplement, is hereby amended by rewriting the same to read as follows:

"Sec. 15‑25.1.  Search warrants for barbiturate and stimulant drugs. (a) A search warrant authorizing an officer to search a person or place for barbiturate drugs or stimulant drugs may be issued by any judge of any court of record, any clerk or assistant clerk of any court of record, or any justice of the peace under the conditions set forth in this Section. When such warrant is issued by a judge or clerk or assistant clerk of the Superior Court or a justice of the peace, it may be executed anywhere in the county in which it is issued. When such warrant is issued by a judge or clerk or assistant clerk of any court inferior to the Superior Court, it may be executed only within the territorial jurisdiction of such inferior court. Such warrant shall be directed to any proper peace officer and shall authorize him to search for such barbiturate or stimulant drugs, to seize the same, and to make return thereof to any court of competent jurisdiction, to be dealt with according to law.

Such warrant shall be issued only if it is established that there is a reason to suspect that some person has in his possession any barbiturate or stimulant drugs for sale, disposition or other purpose, such sale, disposition or other purpose being unlawful.

A warrant shall issue only on affidavit sworn to before a judge or a clerk or assistant clerk of a court of record or a justice of the peace, establishing the grounds for issuing the warrant. If such judge, justice of the peace, or clerk or assistant clerk is satisfied that grounds for the application exist or that there is probable cause to believe that they exist, he shall issue a warrant identifying the drugs and naming or describing the person or place to be searched. The warrant shall state the grounds or probable cause for its issuance and the names of the persons whose affidavits have been taken in support thereof. It shall command the officer to search forthwith the person or place named for the property specified. No warrant shall be issued in any case upon an affidavit stating nothing more than 'information and belief'.

(b)        The term 'barbiturate drug' means:

(1)        Barbiturate acid, the salts and derivatives of barbituric acid, or compounds, preparations or mixtures thereof; and

(2)        Drugs, compounds, preparations or mixtures which have a hypnotic or somnifacient effect on the body of a human or animal, to be found by the State Board of Pharmacy and duly promulgated by rule or regulation; except that the term 'barbiturate drug' shall not include any drug the manufacture or delivery of which is regulated by the narcotic drug laws of this State; provided, however, that the term 'barbiturate drug' shall not include compounds, mixtures, or preparations containing barbituric acid, salts or derivatives of barbituric acid, when such compounds, mixtures, or preparations contain a sufficient quantity of another drug or drugs, in addition to such acid, salts or derivatives, to cause the resultant product to produce an action other than its hypnotic or somnifacient action.

(c)        The term 'stimulant drug' means any drug consisting of amphetamine, desoxyephedrine (methamphetamine), mephentermine, pipradol, phenmetrazine, methylphenidate, or any salt, mixture or optical isomer of any of them, which drug, salt, mixture or optical isomer has a stimulating effect on the central nervous system, but shall not include preparations containing any of the aforementioned drugs, salts, mixtures or optical isomers thereof which is compounded, mixed or prepared with another drug so as to cause the resultant product to produce an action other than that of predominantly stimulating the central nervous system."

Sec. 2.  All laws and clauses of laws in conflict with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed.

Sec. 3.  This Act shall become effective November 1, 1961.

In the General Assembly read three times and ratified, this the 18th day of May, 1961.