Utah Code § 58-37-2 lays out various definitions related to the state Controlled Substance Act. Those related to possession of marijuana include:
- “Consumption” refers to the ingestion of a controlled substance into a person’s body or possessing any measureable amount of the controlled substance in the person’s body. However, it does not include the metabolite of a controlled substance.
- “Controlled substance” refers to a drug or substance:
- Included in Schedules I, II, III, IV or V of Section 58-37-4 of Utah Code;
- Included in Schedules I, II, III, IV, or V of the federal Controlled Substances Act, Title II, P.L. 91-513;
- However, it does not include terms defined in the Alcoholic Beverage Control Act, drugs intended for lawful medical use, dietary supplements, or those that are not otherwise regulated by law.
- “Conviction” refers to a determination of guilt by verdict from jury or bench. It also includes please of guilty or no contest for criminal offenses under state and federal law.
- “Marijuana” refers to all species and parts of the genus cannabis, whether growing or not. It also includes the seeds, resin, and derived compounds, or preparation. The definition does not include mature cannabis stalks, fiber, oil, or cake made from the plant’s seeds. It does include equivalent substances to cannabis or any other species of cannabis which are chemically indistinguishable and pharmacologically active.
- “Possession” or “use” refers to any joint or individual ownership, control, occupancy, holding, retaining, belonging, maintaining, or the application, inhalation, swallowing, injection or consumption, as distinguished from distribution of controlled substances.
To show that a person has possession of a controlled substance, it isn’t required to show that he or she individually possessed or used the controlled substance. It’s enough to show that the person jointly participated with one or more other people in the use, possession or control of any substance with the knowledge that the activity was occurring, or the controlled substance is found in a place or circumstances where the person had the ability and intent to exercise dominion and control over it.