§ 4-24 Paraphernalia Charge

• Library: South Carolina Requests to Charge - Criminal (SCBar) (2023 Ed.)

§ 4-24 Paraphernalia Charge

Section 44-53-391(a) of the South Carolina Code of Laws provides:

(a) It shall be unlawful for any person to advertise for sale, manufacture, possess, sell or deliver, or to possess with the intent to deliver, or sell paraphernalia.

Before you may find the defendant guilty of a violation of the drug paraphernalia law, the State must prove the following two elements beyond a reasonable doubt:

(1) that the object, in fact, is drug paraphernalia;

AND

(2) that the paraphernalia was either

(a) advertised for sale;

OR

(b) manufactured;

OR

(c) possessed;

OR

(d) sold;

OR

(e) delivered;

OR

(f) possessed with intent to sell or deliver by the defendant.

To advertise means to make something known to someone; to make publicly and generally known; to announce publicly; to call public attention to, especially by emphasizing desirable qualities so as to arouse a desire to buy, patronize, invest, or the like.

Possession means more than simply having paraphernalia in your possession. The possession must be knowing possession. The alleged offender must be in possession of the paraphernalia and he must know that he had the paraphernalia in his possession.

There are two kinds of possession recognized in the law of this State:

(1) actual possession; and

(2) constructive possession.

Actual possession occurs when the controlled substance is found to be in the actual physical custody of the person charged with possession.

Constructive possession is when a person has dominion or control, or the right to exercise dominion or control, over either the object or the premises upon which the object is located.

Mere presence of a person in an...