§ 17-6. Relevant factors.

(a) In general.

To determine whether the use, possession, sale, or delivery of an object is prohibited by §§ 17-2 through 17-5 of this subtitle, a court should consider, among other logically relevant factors:

(1) any statement by an owner or a person in control of the object concerning its use;

(2) any prior conviction of an owner or a person in control of the object under a state or federal law relating to controlled dangerous substances;

(3) the proximity of the object, in time and space, to a direct violation of this subtitle or to a controlled dangerous substance;

(4) any residue of a controlled dangerous substance on the object;

(5) direct or circumstantial evidence of the intent of an owner or a person in control of the object to deliver it to another who the owner or person in control knows or should reasonably know, intends to use the object to facilitate a violation of {the} Maryland Controlled Dangerous Substances Act;

(6) any instructions, oral or written, provided with the object concerning its use;

(7) any descriptive materials accompanying the object that explain or depict its use;

(8) national or local advertising concerning the object's use;

(9) the manner in which the object is displayed for sale;

(10) whether the owner or a person in control of the object is a licensed distributor or dealer of tobacco products or a legitimate supplier of related items to the community;

(11) direct or circumstantial evidence of the ratio of sales of the object to the total sales of the business enterprise;

(12) the existence and scope of legitimate uses for the object in the community;

(13) expert testimony concerning the object's use; and

(14) any other verifiable information that indicates that the object is intended or designed for use in violation of law.

(b) Innocence of owner not dispositive.

The innocence of an owner or person in control of the object as to a direct violation of this subtitle does not prevent a finding that the object is intended or designed for use in violation of this subtitle or the Maryland Controlled Dangerous Substances Act.