LSD

Reporter’s Note

Mental Element.  As part of the mental element, the State must prove that the defendant knew that what he sold contained the specific regulated drug at the time he sold it. See State v. Rillo, 2020 VT 82, ¶ 12, 213 Vt. 193 (“The ‘knowing’ element of the alleged crime required proof that defendant knew the drug contained fentanyl at the time he committed the crime.”) (emphasis in original).

“Dispensing.”  The word “dispense” is defined under 18 V.S.A. § 4201(7) to include “distribute, leave with, give away, dispose of, or deliver.” It is the committee’s understanding that “dispensing” a regulated drug necessarily involves a transfer to another individual.  One who disposes of regulated drugs by flushing them down the toilet is not thereby guilty of dispensing.  While it may be a crime to possess the drug, it is not a crime to dispossess oneself of the drug so long as the dispossession does not involve selling or dispensing.  State v. Harris, 152 Vt. 507, 509 (1989).