State v. Munson

714 S.W.2d 515, 1986 Mo. LEXIS 300
CourtSupreme Court of Missouri
DecidedJuly 15, 1986
Docket67959
StatusPublished
Cited by18 cases

This text of 714 S.W.2d 515 (State v. Munson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Missouri primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Munson, 714 S.W.2d 515, 1986 Mo. LEXIS 300 (Mo. 1986).

Opinions

BLACKMAR, Judge.

Governments at all levels are engaged in an apparently losing battle against “controlled substances,” variously known as drugs, narcotics, and “dope.” In the possibly wishful thought that it would aid in the battle, the Missouri General Assembly, in 1982, adopted portions of the “Model Drug Paraphernalia Act.” 1 This is our first case dealing with the 1982 legislation.

The defendant, Roger K. Munson, was the proprietor of a store in Springfield known as Impulse General Store. It is charged in the information that he

unlawfully possessed with the intent to deliver drug paraphernalia, to-wit: cocaine kits, cocaine spoons, manitol (sic) cutting agent, smoking devices, roach clips, and other numerous items, which he knew, or reasonably should have known, would be used to plant, propagate, cultivate, grow, harvest, manufacture, compound, convert, produce, process, prepare, test, analyze, pack, repack, store, contain, conceal, inject, ingest, inhale or otherwise introduce into the human body, a controlled substance or an imitation controlled substance.

He waived a jury and stood trial before Judge Donald E. Bonacker, who found him guilty as charged. The trial judge set out his detailed findings in a helpful opinion. Munson was sentenced as a prior offender to a term of eight years.

He appeals, alleging: (1) that the statute is so vague and overbroad as to deprive persons in his position of liberty and property without due process of law; (2) that the evidence was prejudicially tainted by an unlawful search; and (3) that the evidence does not support the conviction. It is because of the first allegation that we have initial appellate jurisdiction. We find no basis for reversal in any of the appellant’s points, and affirm the conviction.

1. Vagueness and Overbreadth

The defendant argues that the statutes provide “neither fair notice of what conduct is prohibited nor explicit standards for enforcement.”

The punitive provisions are set forth in § 195.020.3, RSMo Supp.1984, as follows:

It is unlawful for any person to deliver, possess with intent to deliver, or manufacture with intent to deliver, drug paraphernalia, knowing, or under circumstances where one reasonably should know, that it will be used to plant, propagate, cultivate, grow, harvest, manufacture, compound, convert, produce, process, prepare, test, analyze, pack, repack, store, contain, conceal, inject, ingest, inhale, or otherwise introduce into the human body a controlled substance or an [519]*519imitation controlled substance in violation of this chapter.

Section 195.010(11), RSMo Supp.1984, sets forth a lengthy definition of “drug paraphernalia,” which follows in pertinent part and with emphasis supplied:

“Drug paraphernalia” means all equipment, products and materials of any kind which are used, intended for use, or designed for use, in planting, propagating, cultivating, growing, harvesting, manufacturing, compounding, converting, producing, processing, preparing, testing, analyzing, packaging, repackaging, storing, containing, concealing, injecting, ingesting, inhaling, or otherwise introducing into the human body a controlled substance or an imitation controlled substance in violation of this chapter. It includes, but is not limited to:
(a) Kits used, intended for use, or designed for use in planting, propagating, cultivating, growing or harvesting of any species of plant which is a controlled substance or from which a controlled substance can be derived;
(b) Kits used, intended for use, or designed for use in manufacturing, compounding, converting, producing, processing, or preparing controlled substances or imitation controlled substances;
* * * * * *
(e) Scales and balances used, intended for use, or designed for use in weighing or measuring controlled substances or imitation controlled substances;
(f) Diluents and adulterants, such as quinine hydrochloride, mannitol, man-nite, dextrose and lactose, used, intended for use, or designed for use in cutting controlled substances or imitation controlled substances;
(g) Separation gins and sifters used, intended for use, or designed for use in removing twigs and seeds from, or in otherwise cleaning or refining, marihuana;
(h) Blenders, bowls, containers, spoons and mixing devices used, intended for use, or designed for use in compounding controlled substances or imitation controlled substances;
(i) Capsules, balloons, envelopes and other containers used, intended for use, or designed for use in packaging small quantities of controlled substances or imitation controlled substances;
(j) Containers and other objects used, intended for use, or designed for use in storing or concealing controlled substances or imitation controlled substances;
* * * * * *
(1) Objects used, intended for use, or designed for use in ingesting, inhaling, or otherwise introducing marihuana, cocaine, hashish, or hashish oil into the human body, such as:
a. Metal, wooden, acrylic, glass, stone, plastic, or ceramic pipes with or without screens, permanent screens, hashish heads, or punctured metal bowls;
b. Water pipes;
c. Carburetion tubes and devices;
d. Smoking and carburetion masks;
e. Roach clips meaning objects used to hold burning material, such as a marihuana cigarette, that has become too small or too short to be held in the hand;
f. Miniature cocaine spoons and cocaine vials;
g. Chamber pipes;
h. Carburetor pipes;
i. Electric pipes;
j. Air-driven pipes;
k. Chillums;
l. Bongs;
m. Ice pipes or chillers.
******

The state concedes that all, or nearly all, of the listed articles may have uses not related to illegal controlled substances. Subsection (11) goes on to list matters which the trier of the fact may consider in determining whether a particular item “is drug paraphernalia,” in the following language:

[520]*520In determining whether an object is drug paraphernalia, a court or other authority should consider, in addition to all other logically relevant factors, the following:
(a) Statements by an owner or by anyone in control of the object concerning its use;
(b) Prior convictions, if any, of an owner, or of anyone in control of the object, under any state or federal law relating to any controlled substance or imitation controlled substance;
(c) The proximity of the object, in time and space, to a direct violation of this chapter;

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State v. Munson
714 S.W.2d 515 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 1986)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
714 S.W.2d 515, 1986 Mo. LEXIS 300, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-munson-mo-1986.