State v. Foreman (Slip Opinion), 2021 Ohio 3409

Kelly Foreman gave birth at Tiffin Mercy Hospital in Seneca County; her newborn (J.B.) tested positive for cocaine metabolites in umbilical-cord tissue, urine, and meconium.
A Seneca County protective-services worker testified Foreman admitted using cocaine 6–12 times during pregnancy and estimated her last use about two weeks before delivery; Foreman told the worker she did not use at home in Seneca County.
Foreman did not dispute use but argued at trial that once cocaine is assimilated into the body it is no longer a thing she can control and therefore cannot be “possessed” in the statutory sense at the hospital.
The trial court convicted Foreman of possession of cocaine; the Third District Court of Appeals affirmed, holding that metabolites found in a person or in bodily matter can establish possession in the county where the test occurred.
The Ohio Supreme Court accepted review and held that mere presence of assimilated drug metabolites is insufficient to prove the statutory element of possession (control) in the charging county and that the state failed to present sufficient corroborating circumstantial evidence of venue; it reversed and vacated the conviction.

Issue	State's Argument	Foreman's Argument	Held
Whether evidence that cocaine metabolites were present in a newborn’s umbilical cord/urine/meconium (collected in Seneca County) proved that Foreman “possessed” cocaine in Seneca County for venue purposes	Metabolites in the body (and in expelled bodily matter collected in the county) show the drug was in Foreman at the hospital, so possession occurred in Seneca County; plus corroborating facts (residence, delivery, admissions) support venue	Once a drug is assimilated into the body the person no longer has control over it and thus cannot “possess” it for purposes of R.C. 2925.01(K); the state offered no evidence she possessed the drug in Seneca County	Mere presence of assimilated metabolites does not establish statutory possession (control); state failed to prove venue beyond a reasonable doubt and conviction vacated

State v. Headley, 6 Ohio St.3d 475 (Ohio 1983) (venue must be proven by the state but need not be in express terms)
State v. Draggo, 65 Ohio St.2d 88 (Ohio 1981) (statutory foundation for venue; trial must be held where offense or any element occurred)
State v. Hampton, 134 Ohio St.3d 447 (Ohio 2012) (state must prove venue beyond a reasonable doubt unless waived)
State v. Nevius, 147 Ohio St. 263 (Ohio 1947) (conviction cannot stand if state fails to prove offense or an element occurred in charging county)
State v. Nicely, 39 Ohio St.3d 147 (Ohio 1988) (corroborating evidence needed to prove venue from circumstantial proof)
State v. Griffin, 220 Wis.2d 371 (Wis. 1998) (presence of drugs in blood/urine alone insufficient to support possession conviction)
State v. Flinchpaugh, 232 Kan. 831 (Kan. 1983) (once a substance is assimilated into the body, control—and thus possession—ceases)
Robinson v. California, 370 U.S. 660 (U.S. 1962) (criminalizing a person’s status of addiction or prior ingestion raises constitutional concerns)