Commonwealth v. Green

The primary issues in the defendant’s appeal from his conviction for operating under the influence of narcotic drugs (G. L. c. 90, § 24) relate to the proof needed to show that codeine is a narcotic as defined in G. L. c. 94C, § 1. General Laws c. 90, § 24(1)(a)(1), as appearing in St. 1982, c. 373, § 2 (“driving under” statute), defines the offense as operating a motor vehicle “while under the influence of . . . narcotic drugs ... as defined in section one of chapter ninety-four C . . . .”

1. Codeine as a narcotic. Since the defendant claims that his motion for a required finding of not…