Connecticut Statutes

§ 21a-240 — (Formerly Sec. 19-443). Definitions.

Connecticut § 21a-240
JurisdictionConnecticut
Title 21aConsumer Protection
Ch. 420bDependency-Producing Drugs

This text of Connecticut § 21a-240 ((Formerly Sec. 19-443). Definitions.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Connecticut primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Conn. Gen. Stat. § 21a-240 (2026).

Text

The following words and phrases, as used in this chapter, shall have the following meanings, unless the context otherwise requires:

(1)“Abuse of drugs” means the use of controlled substances solely for their stimulant, depressant or hallucinogenic effect upon the higher functions of the central nervous system and not as a therapeutic agent prescribed in the course of medical treatment or in a program of research operated under the direction of a physician or pharmacologist.
(2)“Administer” means the direct application of a controlled substance, whether by injection, inhalation, ingestion or any other means, to the body of a patient or research subject by:
(A)A practitioner, or, in the practitioner's presence, by the practitioner's authorized agent;
(B)the patient or research subject at

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Legislative History

(1967, P.A. 555, S. 1; 1969, P.A. 391, S. 1; 578, S. 1; 753, S. 1, 2, 38; 1972, P.A. 278, S. 1; 294, S. 42; P.A. 73-137, S. 11–14; 73-291, S. 3; 73-616, S. 61; 73-681, S. 1, 29; P.A. 74-332, S. 4–6; 74-338, S. 36, 94; P.A. 75-176, S. 1; P.A. 77-101, S. 1; 77-614, S. 323, 610; P.A. 80-224, S. 1; P.A. 81-363, S. 1; 81-472, S. 53, 159; P.A. 82-355, S. 1; P.A. 85-613, S. 81, 154; P.A. 87-129, S. 2; 87-373, S. 1; P.A. 90-209, S. 26; P.A. 92-185, S. 2, 6; May Sp. Sess. P.A. 92-11, S. 66, 70; P.A. 93-381, S. 9, 39; P.A. 95-72, S. 2; 95-79, S. 79, 189; 95-257, S. 11, 12, 21, 58; 95-264, S. 57; P.A. 97-248, S. 5, 12; P.A. 99-102, S. 32, 51; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 99-2, S. 5, 72; P.A. 00-182, S. 1; P.A. 03-278, S. 78, 79; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6, S. 146(c), (d); P.A. 04-169, S. 17; 04-189, S. 1; P.A. 06-195, S. 15; P.A. 09-22, S. 3; P.A. 10-32, S. 80; P.A. 15-202, S. 1, 2; P.A. 16-43, S. 8; P.A. 17-17, S. 4; P.A. 19-3, S. 3, 4; 19-38, S. 1; Sept. Sp. Sess. P.A. 20-2, S. 3, 4; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 21-1, S. 141, 142; P.A. 22-108, S. 2; P.A. 23-79, S. 1; P.A. 24-76, S. 1; 24-115, S. 1.) History: 1969 acts divided former Subdiv. (6) into Subparas. (a) and (e), inserting new Subparas. (b) to (d), included doctors designated as residents or fellows as interns in Subdiv. (14), redefined “narcotic drugs” to specifically exclude cannabis-type drugs which had previously been included in Subdiv. (18), included cannabis-type drugs as “restricted drugs” in Subdiv. (32) and added Subdiv. (37) defining “podiatrist”; 1972 acts substituted “substances” or “controlled substances” for “drugs” throughout section and specific Federal Controlled Substances Act for federal narcotics laws, redefined “controlled drugs” to delete drugs specifically named in former Subparas. (b) to (d), redefined “dispense”, “narcotic drugs”, “official written order”, “person”, “practitioner”, “registrant”, “registry number”, “restricted drugs or substances” and “sale” for greater clarity and detail, deleted definitions of “federal narcotics laws”, “manufacturer”, and “wholesaler” and defined “administer”, “agent”, “bureau”, “controlled substance”, “counterfeit substance”, “deliver or delivery”, “dispenser”, “distribute”, “distributor”, “drug”, “drug paraphernalia”, “Federal Controlled Substances Act”, “hospital”, “immediate precursor”, “manufacture”, “marijuana”, “opiate”, “opium poppy”, “poppy straw”, “production”, “state” and “ultimate user”, rearranging and renumbering Subdivs. accordingly; P.A. 73-137 replaced “drugs” with “substances” in terms defined in Subdivs. (4), (7), (23) and (30); P.A. 73-291 deleted repealed Sec. 17-155a as section for which definitions apply; P.A. 73-616 deleted reference to osteopaths' practice of medicine which initially came into being in 1972 but was removed by later 1972 act before enacted; P.A. 73-681 deleted reference to public health council in Subdivs. (8) and (26) and to commissioner of health in Subdiv. (26), replaced department of health with department of consumer protection in Subdiv. (27), defined “factory”, “wholesaler” and “reasonable times” and redefined “opiate” to exclude certain drugs; P.A. 74-332 redefined “cannabis-type drugs” and “marijuana” to include any plant of the genus or infraspecific taxon rather than the single plant Cannabis sativa L. and included “cannabidiol” in Subdiv. (7) and “cannabinon, cannabinol or cannabidiol” in Subdiv. (29) plus other compounds similar in structure or effect; P.A. 74-338 made technical changes; P.A. 75-176 redefined “registry number”; P.A. 77-101 defined “unit dose drug distribution system”; P.A. 77-614 replaced department of health with department of health services in Subdivs. (24) and (25), effective January 1, 1979; P.A. 80-224 redefined “drug paraphernalia”; P.A. 81-363 amended Subsec. (57) to authorize chronic and convalescent nursing homes to utilize a unit dose drug distribution system; P.A. 81-472 made technical changes; P.A. 82-355 amended Subdiv. (49) by revising the list of volatile substances included; Sec. 19-443 transferred to Sec. 21a-240 in 1983; P.A. 85-613 made technical change; P.A. 87-129 redefined “controlled substance” and substituted reference to Sec. 21a-243 for Sec. 21a-242, repealed by the same act; P.A. 87-373 added Subdiv. (58) defining “cocaine in a free-base form”; P.A. 90-209 deleted references to Secs. 17-176, 17-179, 17-183, 17-190, 17-198, 17-199 and 17-201 as sections in which the definitions apply; P.A. 92-185 amended Subdiv. (20) (A) to make technical changes in the numbering and to provide in (ix) that only hypodermic needles, syringes and other objects used to inject controlled substances, “in a quantity greater than eight”, are included in the definition of “drug paraphernalia”; May Sp. Sess. P.A. 92-11 amended Subdiv. (20)(A)(ix) to increase the quantity of syringes, needles or other objects used to inject controlled substances that constitute “drug paraphernalia” from “greater than eight” to “greater than ten”; (Revisor's note: In 1993 an obsolete reference in Subdiv. (24) to Sec. 21a-285 was replaced editorially by the Revisors with Sec. 21a-283 to reflect the repeal of Secs. 21a-284 and 21a-285); P.A. 93-381 replaced department of health services with department of public health and addiction services, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 95-72 amended Subdiv. (49) to include formaldehyde in the list of restricted substances; P.A. 95-79 redefined “person” to include a limited liability company, effective May 31, 1995; P.A. 95-257 replaced Commissioner and Department of Public Health and Addiction Services with Commissioner and Department of Public Health and replaced Commissioner and Department of Mental Health with Commissioner and Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 95-264 amended Subdiv. (38) to make technical change; P.A. 97-248 redefined “drug dependence” in Subdiv. (18) and “drug-dependent person” in Subdiv. (19), effective July 1, 1997; P.A. 99-102 repealed Subdiv. (35) which had defined “osteopath” and amended Subdivs. (40) and (43) by deleting obsolete reference to osteopathy and to Sec. 20-21; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 99-2 amended Subdiv. (20)(A)(ix) by replacing “ten” with “thirty” hypodermic syringes; P.A. 00-182 redefined “restricted drugs or substances” in Subdiv. (49) to include 1,4 butanediol; P.A. 03-278 made technical changes in Subdivs. (24) and (27), effective July 9, 2003; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6 and P.A. 04-169 replaced Commissioner and Department of Consumer Protection with Commissioner and Department of Agriculture and Consumer Protection, effective July 1, 2004; P.A. 04-189 repealed Sec. 146 of June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6, thereby reversing the merger of the Departments of Agriculture and Consumer Protection, effective June 1, 2004; P.A. 06-195 redefined “drug paraphernalia” in Subdiv. (20)(A) to exclude equipment, products and material used, intended for use or designed for use in injecting controlled substances into the human body, deleted former Subdiv. (20)(A)(ix) re number of hypodermic syringes, needles and other injecting objects considered drug paraphernalia and redesignated existing Subdiv. (20)(A)(x) as Subdiv. (20)(A)(ix), effective June 7, 2006; P.A. 09-22 redefined “prescription” in Subdiv. (45), effective July 1, 2009; P.A. 10-32 made a technical change in Subdiv. (55), effective May 10, 2010; P.A. 15-202 amended Subdivs. (7) and (29) by adding “, or industrial hemp, as defined in 7 USC 5940, as amended from time to time” and making technical changes, effective July 1, 2015; P.A. 16-43 amended Subdiv. (3) by adding reference to prescribing practitioner; P.A. 17-17 amended Subdiv. (23) by redefining “hallucinogenic substances” to exclude cannabis-type substances; P.A. 19-3 amended Subdivs. (7) and (29) by changing “industrial hemp, as defined in 7 USC 5940” to “hemp, as defined in 7 USC 1639o”, effective May 9, 2019; P.A. 19-38 amended Subdiv. (30) by redefining “narcotic substance”; Sept. Sp. Sess. P.A. 20-2 amended Subdivs. (7) and (29) to replace “modified” with “derived from hemp, as defined in section 22-61 l ”, effective October 2, 2020; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 21-1 amended Subdiv. (29) by redefining “marijuana” and added Subdiv.(59) defining “THC”, Subdiv. (60) defining “total THC”, Subdiv. (61) defining “manufactured cannabinoid” and Subdiv. (62) defining “synthetic cannabinoid”, effective July 1, 2021; P.A. 22-108 amended Subdiv. (20) by making technical changes and exempting products used to test a substance prior to injection, inhalation or ingestion from the definition of “drug paraphernalia”, effective July 1, 2022; P.A. 23-79 amended Subdiv. (29) by redefining “marijuana”, added Subdiv. (63) defining “high-THC hemp product”, and made technical and conforming changes throughout, effective July 1, 2023; P.A. 24-76 amended Subdiv. (7) by redefining “cannabis-type substances” to exclude unsterilized seeds, amended Subdiv. (29) by redefining “marijuana” to exclude unsterilized seeds, synthetic cannabinoids and infused beverages, amended Subdivs. (61) and (62) by redefining “manufactured cannabinoid” and “synthetic cannabinoid”, amended Subdiv. (63) by designating existing provisions defining “high-THC hemp product” as Subpara. (A), redesignating existing Subparas. (A) to (D) as clauses (i) to (iv), Subpara. (A)(i) and (ii) as clause (i)(I) and (II), Subpara. (B)(i) and (ii) as clause (ii)(I) and (II) and Subpara. (D)(i) to (iii) as clause (iv)(I) to (III), and adding new Subpara. (B) re definition on and after October 1, 2024, and made technical and conforming changes in Subdivs. (2), (3), (9), (17), (20)(A)(ix), (28)(A), (29), (30)(A)(ii), (43), (59) and (63), effective July 1, 2024; P.A. 24-115 redefined “cannabis-type substances” in Subdiv. (7), “marijuana” in Subdiv. (29), “manufactured cannabinoid” in Subdiv. (61) and “synthetic cannabinoid” in Subdiv. (62), and made technical and conforming changes throughout, effective June 4, 2024. Annotations to former section 19-443: Cited. 163 C. 62. Subdiv. (50): Applied to prosecution under Sec. 19-480(a). 166 C. 569. Cited. 169 C. 416; 172 C. 593; 178 C. 704; 181 C. 562; 197 C. 67. Cited. 30 CS 267; 31 CS 130; 32 CS 324; 33 CS 186. Marijuana is a cannabis-type drug within the prohibition of chapter; marijuana is within the definition of controlled drugs in section; “narcotics” as used in state and federal legislation is a legal not scientific term. 5 Conn. Cir. Ct. 134. Annotations to present section: Cited. 197 C. 644; 198 C. 111; 203 C. 641; 212 C. 223; 221 C. 595; 226 C. 514; 227 C. 456; 228 C. 281; 233 C. 174. Cited. 12 CA 225; Id., 274; 13 CA 288; Id., 299; 28 CA 575; 38 CA 815; 43 CA 339. Subdiv. (19): Legislature, in redefining “drug-dependent person”, did not intend to classify all individuals who are medically dependent on prescribed narcotics as drug dependent persons. 77 CA 393. Subdiv. (20): Language in Subpara. (A) clearly not intended as an exhaustive or exclusive list. 51 CA 126. Subdiv. (50): Plain meaning of definition encompasses every instance in which defendant offers to, or does in fact, “barter, exchange or gift” narcotics to another. 308 C. 43. Cited. 3 CA 339; 8 CA 469; 23 CA 667; 24 CA 543; Id., 642; 37 CA 156; 38 CA 621; 39 CA 110. Although statutory definition of “sale” is substantially broader than common dictionary definition, court concluded that term was being used, in specific instance in the case, in its ordinary meaning. 87 CA 24.

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Bluebook (online)
Connecticut § 21a-240, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/statute/ct/21a-240.