Ohio Revised Code

Ohio Rev. Code § 2941.1410 (2026)

Major drug offender specification

✓ current as of May 2026
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(A) Except as provided in sections 2925.03 and 2925.11 and division (E)(1) of section 2925.05 of the Revised Code, the determination by a court that an offender is a major drug offender is precluded unless the indictment, count in the indictment, or information charging the offender specifies that the offender is a major drug offender. The specification shall be stated at the end of the body of the indictment, count, or information, and shall be stated in substantially the following form:

"SPECIFICATION (or, SPECIFICATION TO THE FIRST COUNT). The Grand Jurors (or insert the person's or prosecuting attorney's name when appropriate) further find and specify that (set forth that the offender is a major drug offender)."

(B) Imposition of a three, four, five, six, seven, or eight-year mandatory prison term upon an offender under division (B)(11) of section 2929.14 of the Revised Code, pursuant to determination by a court that an offender is a major drug offender, is precluded unless the indictment, count in the indictment, or information charging the offender with the violation of section 2925.03, 2925.05, or 2925.11 of the Revised Code specifies that the offender is a major drug offender and that the drug involved in the violation is a fentanyl-related compound or a compound, mixture, preparation, or substance containing a fentanyl-related compound. The specification shall be stated at the end of the body of the indictment, count, or information, and shall be stated in substantially the following form:

"SPECIFICATION (or, SPECIFICATION TO THE FIRST COUNT). The Grand Jurors (or insert the person's or prosecuting attorney's name when appropriate) further find and specify that (set forth that the offender is a major drug offender and the drug involved in the violation is a fentanyl-related compound or a compound, mixture, preparation, or substance containing a fentanyl-related compound)."

(C) The court shall determine the issue of whether an offender is a major drug offender.

(D) As used in this section, "major drug offender" has the same meaning as in section 2929.01 of the Revised Code.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 101 cases (55 in the last 5 years), 2000–2026 · leading case: State v. Gonzales (Slip Opinion), 2016 Ohio 8319 (Ohio 2016).
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State v. Gonzales (Slip Opinion), 2016 Ohio 8319 (Ohio 2016). · cites it 2× “R.C. 2941.1410(A). R.C. 2929.01(W) includes in its definition of MDO “an offender” convicted of possessing “at least one hundred grams of cocaine.”
State v. Chandler, 813 N.E.2d 65 (Ohio Ct. App. 2004). · cites it 6× “The indictment also contained a major-drug-offender specification pursuant to R.C. 2941.1410. Plaintiff appellee is the state of Ohio.”
State v. Elkins, 773 N.E.2d 593 (Ohio Ct. App. 2002). · cites it 4× “{¶ 23} Defendant, however, also claims that Ohio’s current major drug offender sentencing scheme is facially unconstitutional because, pursuant to R.C. 2941.1410, it leaves the determination of major drug offender status to the trial court, not the jury.”
State v. Dues, 2014 Ohio 5276 (Ohio Ct. App. 2014). · cites it 4× “{¶47} R.C. 2941.1410 (“Specification that offender is a major drug offender”) sets forth the general statutory framework for MDO.”
State v. Willan, 2013 Ohio 2405 (Ohio 2013). · cites it 8× “54 of the Revised Code that includes the sale, offer to sell, or possession of a schedule I or II controlled substance, with the exception of marihuana, and the court imposing sentence upon the offender finds that the offender is guilty of a specification of the type described…”
State v. Gill, 2024 Ohio 2792 (Ohio Ct. App. 2024). · cites it 4× “14(B)(11) states that the trial court shall impose an additional mandatory prison term “if the drug involved in the violation is a fentanyl-related compound or a compound, mixture, preparation, or substance containing a fentanyl-related compound” and if the offender also is…”
State v. Hill, 2022 Ohio 4544 (Ohio 2022). “See R.C. 2941.1410. This meant that Hill was facing a mandatory indefinite sentence of 11 to 16.”
State v. Davis, 2022 Ohio 4767 (Ohio Ct. App. 2022). · cites it 3× “03(A) (2) and (C) (8) (g), a felony of the first degree, with a major drug offender (“MDO”) specification attached pursuant to R.C. 2941.1410. At this point, appellant retained counsel and on January 31, 2017, appellant entered a plea of not guilty.”
State v. Barnes, 2020 Ohio 3943 (Ohio Ct. App. 2020). · cites it 5× “The record before us indicates that the jury essentially determined Barnes 1 The current version of R.C. 2941.1410 went into effect on October 31, 2018 and is not applicable to the present case.”
State v. Colston, 2020 Ohio 3879 (Ohio Ct. App. 2020). · cites it 2× “{¶105} R.C. 2941.1410, provides, in relevant part, (A) Except as provided in sections 2925.”
State v. Willan, 2011 Ohio 6603 (Ohio Ct. App. 2011). · cites it 4× “Through legislative amendments over the next four years, however, twelve more drug offenses were added to this provision, as well as a reference to the major drug offender specification under R.C. 2941.1410, each with its 47 Revised Code section identified.”
State v. Duvernay, 2017 Ohio 4219 (Ohio Ct. App. 2017). · cites it 3× “11(A), (C)(6)(f), a first-degree felony, with a major drug offender ("MDO") specification under R.C. 2941.1410(A) and four automobile-forfeiture specifications under R.”
Show all 101 citing cases →
— Ohio Rev. Code § 2941.1410(A) — 53 cases
State v. Gonzales (Slip Opinion), 2016 Ohio 8319 (Ohio 2016). “R.C. 2941.1410(A). R.C. 2929.01(W) includes in its definition of MDO “an offender” convicted of possessing “at least one hundred grams of cocaine.”
State v. Duvernay, 2017 Ohio 4219 (Ohio Ct. App. 2017). “11(A), (C)(6)(f), a first-degree felony, with a major drug offender ("MDO") specification under R.C. 2941.1410(A) and four automobile-forfeiture specifications under R.”
State v. Johnson, 2021 Ohio 1768 (Ohio Ct. App. 2021).
State v. Vale, 2023 Ohio 4287 (Ohio Ct. App. 2023).
State v. Pitts, 2024 Ohio 987 (Ohio Ct. App. 2024).
— Ohio Rev. Code § 2941.1410(A)(2) — 1 case
State v. Grimes, 2024 Ohio 2609 (Ohio Ct. App. 2024).
— Ohio Rev. Code § 2941.1410(B) — 18 cases
State v. Elkins, 773 N.E.2d 593 (Ohio Ct. App. 2002). “{¶ 23} Defendant, however, also claims that Ohio’s current major drug offender sentencing scheme is facially unconstitutional because, pursuant to R.C. 2941.1410, it leaves the determination of major drug offender status to the trial court, not the jury.”
State v. Dues, 2014 Ohio 5276 (Ohio Ct. App. 2014). “{¶47} R.C. 2941.1410 (“Specification that offender is a major drug offender”) sets forth the general statutory framework for MDO.”
State v. Corbett, 2023 Ohio 556 (Ohio Ct. App. 2023).
State v. Gill, 2024 Ohio 2792 (Ohio Ct. App. 2024). “14(B)(11) states that the trial court shall impose an additional mandatory prison term “if the drug involved in the violation is a fentanyl-related compound or a compound, mixture, preparation, or substance containing a fentanyl-related compound” and if the offender also is…”
State v. Makin, 2017 Ohio 2649 (Ohio Ct. App. 2017).
— Ohio Rev. Code § 2941.1410(C) — 1 case
State v. Barnes, 2020 Ohio 3943 (Ohio Ct. App. 2020). “The record before us indicates that the jury essentially determined Barnes 1 The current version of R.C. 2941.1410 went into effect on October 31, 2018 and is not applicable to the present case.”
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