21 U.S.C. § 885 : US Code - Section 885: Burden of proof; liabilities

Search 21 U.S.C. § 885 : US Code - Section 885: Burden of proof; liabilities

(a) Exemptions and exceptions; presumption in simple possession
offenses
(1) It shall not be necessary for the United States to negative
any exemption or exception set forth in this subchapter in any
complaint, information, indictment, or other pleading or in any
trial, hearing, or other proceeding under this subchapter, and the
burden of going forward with the evidence with respect to any such
exemption or exception shall be upon the person claiming its
benefit.
(2) In the case of a person charged under section 844(a) of this
title with the possession of a controlled substance, any label
identifying such substance for purposes of section 353(b)(2) of
this title shall be admissible in evidence and shall be prima facie
evidence that such substance was obtained pursuant to a valid
prescription from a practitioner while acting in the course of his
professional practice.
(b) Registration and order forms
In the absence of proof that a person is the duly authorized
holder of an appropriate registration or order form issued under
this subchapter, he shall be presumed not to be the holder of such
registration or form, and the burden of going forward with the
evidence with respect to such registration or form shall be upon
him.
(c) Use of vehicles, vessels, and aircraft
The burden of going forward with the evidence to establish that a
vehicle, vessel, or aircraft used in connection with controlled
substances in schedule I was used in accordance with the provisions
of this subchapter shall be on the persons engaged in such use.
(d) Immunity of Federal, State, local and other officials
Except as provided in sections 2234 and 2235 of title 18, no
civil or criminal liability shall be imposed by virtue of this
subchapter upon any duly authorized Federal officer lawfully
engaged in the enforcement of this subchapter, or upon any duly
authorized officer of any State, territory, political subdivision
thereof, the District of Columbia, or any possession of the United
States, who shall be lawfully engaged in the enforcement of any law
or municipal ordinance relating to controlled substances.