Marvin Mandel, Governor                         837

RETROACTIVE APPLICATION OF THE ACT, and generally
relating thereto.

Section 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Maryland,
That Section 292 of Article 27 of the Annotated Code of Maryland
(1971 Replacement Volume and 1971 Supplement), title "Crimes and
Punishments," subtitle "Health-Controlled Dangerous Substances,"
be and it is hereby repealed and re-enacted, with amendments, to
read as follows:

292.

(a)    Whenever any person who has not previously been convicted
of any offense under this subheading or under any other prior law
of this State or the laws of the United States or of any other State
relating to controlled dangerous substances as defined in this sub-
heading, and who is tried for any offense specified in this subheading
and is found not guilty, or where the charges against such person
are dismissed in any manner, by either the court or the prosecuting
authority, the court, if satisfied that the best interest of the person
and the welfare of the people of this State would be served thereby,
shall expunge the criminal record resulting from the arrest in such
case. No expunged criminal arrest record shall thereafter be
regarded as an arrest for purposes of employment, civil rights,
or any statute or regulation or license or questionnaire or any other
public or private purpose.

(b)    Whenever any person who has not previously been con-
victed of any offense under this subheading or under any prior law
of this State or the laws of the United States or of any other state
relating to controlled dangerous substances defined in this subhead-
ing, pleads guilty to or is found guilty of any of the offenses specified
in this subheading, the court, if satisfied that the best interests of
the person and the welfare of the people of this State would be
served thereby may, with the consent of such person stay the
entering of the judgment of guilt, defer further proceedings, and
place such person on probation subject to such reasonable terms and
conditions as may be appropriate and may in addition require that
such person undergo inpatient or outpatient treatment for drug
abuse. Upon violation of a term or condition, the court may enter
a judgment of conviction and proceed as otherwise provided.
Upon fulfillment of the terms and conditions, the court shall dis-
charge such person and dismiss the proceedings against him. Dis-
charge and dismissal under this section shall be without a judgment
of conviction and shall not be deemed a conviction for purposes of
disqualifications or disabilities imposed by the law upon conviction
of a crime including the additional penalties imposed for second or
subsequent convictions under section 293 of this subheading. Dis-
charge and dismissal under this section may occur only once with re-
spect to any person and in addition any public criminal record in any
such case shall be expunged upon the satisfactory completion of any
such period of probation. Any expunged arrest and/or conviction
shall not thereafter be regarded as an arrest or conviction for pur-
poses of employment, civil rights, or any statute or regulation or
license or questionnaire or any other public or private purpose,
provided that any such conviction shall continue to constitute an
offense for purposes of this subheading or any other criminal statute
under which the existence of a prior conviction is relevant.