Montana Code Annotated 2023

TITLE 44. LAW ENFORCEMENT

CHAPTER 12. SEIZURES RELATED TO CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES

Part 1. General Provisions

Things Subject To Forfeiture

44-12-102. Things subject to forfeiture. (1) A court may order, as part of the sentence imposed upon conviction, that the following property be forfeited as provided in 44-12-207 through 44-12-211:

(a) all controlled substances that have been manufactured, distributed, prepared, cultivated, compounded, processed, or possessed in violation of Title 45, chapter 9;

(b) all money, raw materials, products, and equipment of any kind that are used or intended for use in manufacturing, preparing, cultivating, compounding, processing, delivering, importing, or exporting any controlled substance in violation of Title 45, chapter 9, except items used or intended for use in connection with quantities of marijuana in amounts less than 60 grams;

(c) except as provided in subsection (2), all property that is used or intended for use as a container for anything enumerated in subsection (1)(a) or (1)(b);

(d) except as provided in subsection (2), all conveyances, including aircraft, vehicles, and vessels, that are used or intended for use in any manner to facilitate the commission of a violation of Title 45, chapter 9;

(e) all books, records, and research products and materials, including formulas, microfilm, tapes, and data, that are used or intended for use in violation of Title 45, chapter 9;

(f) all drug paraphernalia as defined in 45-10-101;

(g) everything of value furnished or intended to be furnished in exchange for a controlled substance in violation of Title 45, chapter 9, all proceeds traceable to an exchange, and all money, negotiable instruments, and securities used or intended to be used to facilitate a violation of Title 45, chapter 9;

(h) any personal property constituting or derived from proceeds obtained directly or indirectly from a violation of Title 45, chapter 9, that is punishable by more than 5 years in prison; and

(i) real property, including any right, title, and interest in any lot or tract of land and any appurtenances or improvements, that is directly used or intended to be used in any manner or part to commit or facilitate the commission of or that is derived from or maintained by the proceeds resulting from a violation of Title 45, chapter 9, that is punishable by more than 5 years in prison. An owner's interest in real property is not subject to forfeit by reason of any act or omission unless it is proved that the act or omission was the owner's or was with the owner's actual knowledge, as defined in 44-12-101, or express consent.

(2) A conveyance or container is not subject to forfeiture under this section if it was used or intended for use in transporting less than 60 grams of marijuana, but this exception does not apply to synthetic cannabinoids listed as dangerous drugs in 50-32-222.

History: En. Sec. 2, Ch. 529, L. 1979; amd. Sec. 8, Ch. 481, L. 1981; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 180, L. 1983; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 476, L. 1987; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 652, L. 1989; amd. Sec. 1631, Ch. 56, L. 2009; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 156, L. 2011; amd. Sec. 7, Ch. 421, L. 2015.