Laboratory Analysis of Cocaine

SECTION 10.   Section 31 of said chapter 94C, as appearing in the 2014 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out clause (4) of paragraph (a) of Class B and inserting in place thereof the following clause:-

(4) Coca leaves, and the salts, optical and geometric isomers and salts of isomers, excluding coca leaves and extracts of coca leaves from which cocaine, ecgonine, and derivatives of ecgonine or their salts have been removed; of cocaine, ecgonine, pseudococaine, allococaine and pseudoallococaine, their derivatives, their salts, isomers and salts of their isomers; or any compound, mixture, or preparation which contains any quantity of any of the substances referred to in this paragraph.
 
 

Summary:
Under current law cocaine is defined as coming from a plant, requiring the State Police lab to conduct a separate test to confirm that each sample of cocaine it analyzes is not synthetically produced. This section brings the Massachusetts definition of cocaine in line with that of the majority of states, eliminating the need for that separate test and realizing associated cost, time and resource savings at the lab.