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| 2 | 2 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2741 FILED ON: 1/19/2023 |
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| 3 | 3 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2002 |
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| 4 | 4 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 5 | 5 | | _________________ |
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| 6 | 6 | | PRESENTED BY: |
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| 7 | 7 | | Samantha Montaño and Mike Connolly |
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| 8 | 8 | | _________________ |
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| 9 | 9 | | To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General |
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| 10 | 10 | | Court assembled: |
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| 11 | 11 | | The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill: |
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| 12 | 12 | | An Act relative to harm reduction and racial justice. |
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| 13 | 13 | | _______________ |
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| 14 | 14 | | PETITION OF: |
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| 15 | 15 | | NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Samantha Montaño15th Suffolk1/19/2023Mike Connolly26th Middlesex1/27/2023Christine P. Barber34th Middlesex1/27/2023Jack Patrick Lewis7th Middlesex1/31/2023Vanna Howard17th Middlesex2/2/2023 1 of 2 |
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| 16 | 16 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2741 FILED ON: 1/19/2023 |
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| 17 | 17 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2002 |
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| 18 | 18 | | By Representatives Montaño of Boston and Connolly of Cambridge, a petition (accompanied by |
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| 19 | 19 | | bill, House, No. 2002) of Samantha Montaño, Mike Connolly and others relative to the |
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| 20 | 20 | | possession of controlled substances. Mental Health, Substance Use and Recovery. |
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| 21 | 21 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 22 | 22 | | _______________ |
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| 23 | 23 | | In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court |
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| 24 | 24 | | (2023-2024) |
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| 25 | 25 | | _______________ |
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| 26 | 26 | | An Act relative to harm reduction and racial justice. |
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| 27 | 27 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority |
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| 28 | 28 | | of the same, as follows: |
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| 29 | 29 | | 1 Chapter 94C of the General Laws is hereby amended by striking out section 34, as so |
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| 30 | 30 | | 2appearing, and inserting in place thereof the following section:- |
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| 31 | 31 | | 3 Section 34. No person knowingly or intentionally shall possess a controlled substance |
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| 32 | 32 | | 4unless such substance was obtained directly, or pursuant to a valid prescription or order, from a |
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| 33 | 33 | | 5practitioner while acting in the course of his professional practice, or except as otherwise |
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| 34 | 34 | | 6authorized by the provisions of this chapter. Except as provided in Section 32L of this Chapter, |
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| 35 | 35 | | 7any person who violates this section shall be subjected to participating in a needs screening to |
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| 36 | 36 | | 8identify health and other service needs, including but not limited to services that may address any |
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| 37 | 37 | | 9substance use disorder and mental health conditions, lack of employment, housing, or food, and |
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| 38 | 38 | | 10any need for civil legal services. The screening should prioritize the individual's self-identified |
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| 39 | 39 | | 11needs for referral to appropriate services. The screening shall be conducted by individuals trained |
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| 40 | 40 | | 12in the use of evidence-based, culturally and gender-competent trauma-informed practices. Upon 2 of 2 |
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| 41 | 41 | | 13verification that the person has completed the screening within forty-five days of when the needs |
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| 42 | 42 | | 14screening was imposed, the citation will be dismissed. Completion of the screening shall not be |
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| 43 | 43 | | 15deemed an admission of any kind and no legal findings shall be made based on the issued |
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| 44 | 44 | | 16citation. |
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