Possession and Control of Drugs in Pennsylvania: What Is It?

Authors

Mark Louis Glosser

Abstract

The rapid growth of drug prosecutions at the county level of the judicial system is now filtering upward to the Commonwealth's appellate courts. It was not until January 1971, that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court first considered the section of the Drug, Device, and Cosmetic Act which prohibits the possession or control of dangerous or narcotic drugs. Following this decision the superior court rendered two opinions which exclusively relied on the rationale developed by the supreme court. Prior to these decisions there was no judicial guidance as to what quantum of evidence was sufficient to convict for possession of drugs. The collective result of these rulings has been the emergence of a limited definition and interpretation of the Act.

First Page

476

Recommended Citation

Mark L. Glosser, Possession and Control of Drugs in Pennsylvania: What Is It?, 10 Duq. L. Rev. 476 (1972).
Available at: https://dsc.duq.edu/dlr/vol10/iss3/8