University of Virginia Library

Buckman Lauds State
On New Drug Bill

By Donn Kessler
Cavalier Daily Staff Writer

John Buckman, an associate professor
of psychiatry at the University Hospital
and an expert on drugs, stated yesterday
that he was both pleased and
disappointed with the proposed state
drug law now before the Virginia Senate.

Dr. Buckman stated that he was
"pleased that the Senate had developed a
new interpretation of felonies concerning
drugs and given greater discretion to
judges" in the differentiating of
possession of drugs from their sale.

"I am disappointed, however, that I
was not able to persuade them to make it
a misdemeanor for all non-narcotic drug
possessions," he continued.

Dr. Buckman testified last Saturday at
the Senate General Laws Committee in their
debate on the bill.

In that meeting, the committee amended the
House of Delegates' version of the bill and
made a first offense for possession of certain
drugs a felony. Included in this category,
according to Dr. Buckman, are all narcotic drugs - the opiate derivatives - and the
hallucinogens, including LSD.

Lower Penalties

The Senate committee decided not to
change the Delegates' decision to make the first
offense possession of all non-narcotic drugs -
such as amphetamines and marijuana -
misdemeanors.

Under the present state law, possession of
more than 25 grains of marijuana is a felony
with a minimum punishment of 20 years in
prison.

The Senate committee also amended the bill
so that in the second offense for possession of
any drug, the court would have the discretion
for imprisonment of up to one year or of a fine
up to $10,000 or both. The Delegates had
decided that a second offense should be
punishable by one to five years imprisonment
or an unspecified fine or both.

A second offense for the possession of any
drug, including marijuana, would still be a
felony under the proposed bill.

In commenting on these proposals, Dr.
Buckman stated that he was "relieved that the
Senate had modified the definition of felony"
and that it had left the penalty up to the
court's discretion. Dr. Buckman stated that the
year's imprisonment in a first offense for
possession "could be suspended" and was "an
enlightened change."

He was also pleased that the first offense for
the possession of non-narcotic drugs was
changed from a felony to a misdemeanor. He
stated that a "misdemeanor can disappear from
a person's record, while a felony cannot."

Second Offense

Dr. Buckman was not extremely happy over
the penalties for a second offense for possession
of a non-narcotic drug, however. He stated that
he "wanted the Legislature to adopt a proposal
already being considered by the Federal
government where the penalty for the second
offense for possession of a non-narcotic drug
could range from zero to two years
imprisonment."

The Senate committee also changed the bill
as to the determination between possession and
sale of narcotics. The committee stated in an
amendment to the bill that courts may consider
the amount of the drugs in a person's
possession in determining whether there was an
intent on the defendant's part to sell the drugs.

Although this leaves the determination of a
"pusher" up to the Court, Dr. Buckman stated
that it would be best if the "burden of proof
for intent to sell was on the prosecution." He
added that it would be "impossible to set
quantitative limits for each drug so as to
differentiate between possession and sale."

Dr. Buckman will discuss the drug problem
in a speech beginning at 8 tomorrow night in
the South Meeting Room, Newcomb Hall.