Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 70.djvu/677

 70 S T A T. ]

PUBLIC LAW 764-JULY 24, 1956

and to whom such narcotic drugs are being furnished, prescribed, or administered in good faith by a duly licensed physician in the course of his professional practice. "(c) Whenever any law-enforcement officer has probable cause to believe that any person is a vagrant within the meaning of this section, he is authorized to place that person under arrest and to confine him in any place in the District of Columbia designated by the Commissioners thereof. " (d) Pending arraignment and without unnecessary delay the person arrested as a vagrant within the meaning of this section shall have the opportunity to be examined by a physician designated by the Commissioners of the District of Columbia, who shall determine whether there is evidence of narcotic drug usage. "(e) If the physician designated by the Commissioners of the District of Columbia is satisfied that the person examined is not a narcotic drug user, or if there is insufficient evidence of narcotic drug usa^e, the United States Attorney shall, if the said person is not otherwise chargeable as a vagrant within the meaning of this section, bring such matter to the attention of the Corporation Counsel for the District of Columbia for determination as to whether there shall be a prosecution under the provisions of the Act of December IT, 1941 (55 Stat. 808; D. C. Code, sec. 23-3302), as amended. " (f) Upon affirmative determination that the person arrested is a narcotic drug user, or if the person has been convicted of a narcotic offense in the District of Columbia or elsewhere, and if such person is also a vagrant as hereinbefore defined, he shall be charged with the offense of vagrancy within the meaning of this section and arraigned in the United States branch of the municipal court, where the prosecution shall be conducted in the name of the United States by the United States attorney. " (g) Any person convicted of being a vagrant under the provisions of this section shall be punished by fine of not more than $500 or imprisonment for not more than one year, or by both such fine and imprisonment. " (h) The court, in sentencing any person found guilty under the provisions of this section, may in its own discretion or upon the recommendation of the probation officer, impose conditions upon the service of any such sentence. Conditions thus imposed by the court may include submission to medical and mental examination, and treatqient by proper public health and welfare authorities; confinement at such place as may be designated by the Commissioners of the District of Columbia, and such other terms and conditions as the court may deem best for the protection of the community and the punishment, control, and rehabilitation of the defendant. " (i) I n all prosecutions under the provisions of this section, the burden of proof shall be upon the defendant to show that he has lawful employment or has lawful means of support realized from a lawful occupation or source." (m) Section 17 of such Act is amended to read as follows: ^ D. c. coae 33"SEC. 17. All narcotic drugs, the lawful possession of which is not established or the title to which cannot be ascertained, which come into the custody of a peace officer shall be delivered promptly to the Secretary of the Treasury or his delegate for disposal in accordance with the provisions of section 4733 of the Internal Revenue Code of

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