TITLE 6. CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND CORRECTIONS
REGISTRAR'S NOTICE: The Forensic Science Board is claiming an exemption from Article 2 of the Administrative Process Act in accordance with § 2.2-4006 A 4 a of the Code of Virginia, which excludes regulations that are necessary to conform to changes in Virginia statutory law or the appropriation act where no agency discretion is involved. The board will receive, consider, and respond to petitions by any interested person at any time with respect to reconsideration or revision.
Title of Regulation: 6VAC40-30. Regulations for the Approval of Field Tests for Detection of Drugs (amending 6VAC40-30-10, 6VAC40-30-20).
Statutory Authority: § 9.1-1110 of the Code of Virginia.
Effective Date: September 30, 2021.
Agency Contact: Amy Jenkins, Department Counsel, Department of Forensic Science, 700 North 5th Street, Richmond, VA 23219, telephone (804) 786-6848, FAX (804) 786-6857, or email amy.jenkins@dfs.virginia.gov.
Summary:
Pursuant to Chapters 550 and 551 of the 2021 Acts of Assembly, Special Session I, the amendments align the regulation with the definitions of marijuana (i) in § 18.2-247 of the Code of Virginia for distribution of marijuana offenses and (ii) in § 4.1-600 of the Code of Virginia for offenses under the Cannabis Control Act (§ 4.1-600 et seq. of the Code of Virginia). The scientific definition of marijuana remains the same under both definitions.
6VAC40-30-10. Definitions.
The following words and terms when used in this chapter shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Agency" means any federal, state, or local government law-enforcement organization in the Commonwealth.
"Approval authority" means the Director of the Department of Forensic Science or the director's designee.
"Department" means the Department of Forensic Science.
"Drug" means any controlled substance, or imitation controlled substance, or marijuana, as defined in § 18.2-247 of the Code of Virginia, or "marijuana" as defined in §§ 4.1-600 and 18.2-247 of the Code of Virginia.
"Field test" means any presumptive chemical test or any presumptive mobile instrument used outside of a forensic laboratory environment to detect the presence of a drug.
"List of approved field tests" means a list of field tests approved by the department for use by law-enforcement agencies in the Commonwealth and periodically published by the department in the Virginia Register of Regulations in accordance with § 19.2-188.1 of the Code of Virginia.
"Manufacturer" means any entity that makes or assembles field tests to be used by any law-enforcement officer or agency in the Commonwealth for the purpose of detecting a drug.
"Manufacturers' instructions and claims" means those testing procedures, requirements, instructions, precautions, and proposed conclusions that are published by the manufacturer and supplied with the field tests.
"Street drug preparations" means any drug or combination of drugs and any other substance that has been encountered or is likely to be encountered by a law-enforcement officer as a purported drug in the Commonwealth.
6VAC40-30-20. Authority for approval.
Section 19.2-188.1 of the Code of Virginia provides that the Department of Forensic Science shall approve field tests for use by law-enforcement officers to enable them to testify to the results obtained in any preliminary hearing regarding whether any substance, the identify of which is at issue in such hearing, is a controlled substance, or imitation controlled substance, or marijuana, as defined in § 18.2-247 of the Code of Virginia, or "marijuana" as defined in §§ 4.1-600 and 18.2-247 of the Code of Virginia.
VA.R. Doc. No. R21-6812; Filed August 10, 2021