Terms Used In South Carolina Code 44-53-440

  • Controlled substance: means a drug, substance, or immediate precursor in Schedules I through V in Sections 44-53-190, 44-53-210, 44-53-230, 44-53-250, and 44-53-270. See South Carolina Code 44-53-110
  • Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
  • Drug: means a substance:

    (a) recognized in the official United States Pharmacopoeia, official Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia of the United States, or official National Formulary, or any supplement to any of them;

    (b) intended for use in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease in man and animals;

    (c) other than food intended to affect the structure or any function of the body of man and animals; and

    (d) intended for use as a component of any substance specified in subitem (a), (b), or (c) of this paragraph but does not include devices or their components, parts, or accessories. See South Carolina Code 44-53-110
  • Narcotic drug: means any of the following, whether produced directly or indirectly by extraction from substances of vegetable origin, or independently by means of chemical synthesis, or by a combination of extraction and chemical synthesis:

    (a) opium, coca leaves, and opiates;

    (b) a compound, manufacture, salt, derivative or preparation of opium, coca leaves, or opiates;

    (c) a substance (and any compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, or preparation thereof) which is chemically identical with any of the substances referred to in subitem (a) or (b). See South Carolina Code 44-53-110
  • Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
Any person eighteen years of age or over who violates § 44-53-370(a) by distributing a controlled substance classified in Schedule I (B) and (C) which is a narcotic drug or lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and in Schedule II which is a narcotic drug, or who violates § 44-53-375(B) by distributing crack cocaine to a person under eighteen years of age is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, must be imprisoned for not more than twenty years or fined not more than thirty thousand dollars, or both, and the sentence may not be suspended and probation may not be granted. Any person eighteen years of age or over who violates § 44-53-370(a) and (b) by distributing any other controlled substance listed in Schedules I through V to a person under eighteen years of age is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be imprisoned for not more than ten years or fined not more than ten thousand dollars, or both. Any violation of this section constitutes a separate offense.