Senate Bill 0726c1
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida Senate - 2000 CS for SB 726
By the Committee on Criminal Justice and Senator Bronson
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1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to nitrous oxide; amending s.
3 877.111, F.S.; providing that it is a
4 third-degree felony to distribute, sell,
5 purchase, or possess more than a specified
6 amount of nitrous oxide; allowing the use of
7 nitrous oxide for specified purposes; providing
8 that a person who discharges, or who aids
9 another in discharging, nitrous oxide for
10 subsequent inhalation creates an inference of
11 the person's knowledge that such nitrous oxide
12 is for unlawful use; providing an effective
13 date.
14
15 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
16
17 Section 1. Section 877.111, Florida Statutes, is
18 amended to read:
19 877.111 Inhalation, ingestion, possession, sale,
20 purchase, or transfer of harmful chemical substances;
21 penalties.--
22 (1) It is unlawful for any person to inhale or ingest,
23 or to possess with intent to breathe, inhale, or drink, any
24 compound, liquid, or chemical containing toluol, hexane,
25 trichloroethylene, acetone, toluene, ethyl acetate, methyl
26 ethyl ketone, trichloroethane, isopropanol, methyl isobutyl
27 ketone, ethylene glycol monomethyl ether acetate,
28 cyclohexanone, nitrous oxide, diethyl ether, alkyl nitrites
29 (butyl nitrite), or any similar substance for the purpose of
30 inducing a condition of intoxication or which distorts or
31 disturbs the auditory, visual, or mental processes. This
1
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida Senate - 2000 CS for SB 726
307-1771A-00
1 section does not apply to the possession and use of these
2 substances as part of the care or treatment of a disease or
3 injury by a practitioner licensed under chapter 458, chapter
4 459, chapter 464, or chapter 466 or to beverages controlled by
5 the provisions of chapter 561, chapter 562, chapter 563,
6 chapter 564, or chapter 565.
7 (2) It is unlawful for any person to possess, buy,
8 sell, or otherwise transfer any chemical substance specified
9 in subsection (1) for the purpose of inducing or aiding any
10 other person to violate the provisions of subsection (1).
11 (3) Except as provided in subsection (4) with respect
12 to nitrous oxide, any person who violates subsection (1) or
13 subsection (2) any of the provisions of this section shall
14 upon conviction be guilty of a misdemeanor of the second
15 degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.
16 (4) Any person who knowingly distributes, sells,
17 purchases, transfers, or possesses more than 16 grams of
18 nitrous oxide for any use other than:
19 (a) As part of the care or treatment of a disease or
20 injury by a practitioner licensed under chapter 458, chapter
21 459, chapter 464, chapter 466, or chapter 474;
22 (b) As a food-processing propellant;
23 (c) As a semiconductor oxidizer;
24 (d) As an analytical chemistry oxidizer in atomic
25 absorption spectrometry;
26 (e) In the production of chemicals used to inflate
27 airbags;
28 (f) As an oxidizer for chemical production,
29 combustion, or jet propulsion; or
30 (g) When mixed with not less than 100 parts per
31 million of sulfur dioxide,
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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida Senate - 2000 CS for SB 726
307-1771A-00
1
2 commits a felony of the third degree which shall be known as
3 unlawful distribution of nitrous oxide, punishable as provided
4 in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084. For purposes of this
5 subsection, in addition to proving by any other means that
6 nitrous oxide was knowingly possessed, distributed, sold,
7 purchased, or transferred for any purpose not specified in
8 paragraphs (a)-(g), any person who discharges, or who aids
9 another in discharging, nitrous oxide to inflate a balloon or
10 any other object suitable for subsequent inhalation creates an
11 inference of the person's knowledge that the nitrous oxide's
12 use is for a purpose not specified in paragraphs (a)-(g).
13 (5)(4) Any person who violates any of the provisions
14 of this section may, in the discretion of the trial judge, be
15 required to participate in a substance abuse services program
16 approved or regulated by the Department of Children and Family
17 Services pursuant to the provisions of chapter 397, provided
18 the director of the program approves the placement of the
19 defendant in the program. Such required participation may be
20 imposed in addition to, or in lieu of, any penalty or
21 probation otherwise prescribed by law. However, the total time
22 of such penalty, probation, and program participation shall
23 not exceed the maximum length of sentence possible for the
24 offense.
25 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2000.
26
27 STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
28 Senate Bill 726
29
30 Creates an inference regarding the person's knowledge that the
nitrous oxide's use was not for a specifically prescribed
31 purpose.
3