NCJ Number
145366
Journal
Louisiana Law Review Volume: 52 Issue: 5 Dated: (May 1992) Pages: 1267-1284
Date Published
1992
Length
18 pages
Annotation
The author discusses the problem of setting penalties in cases in which drug weight is disputable.
Abstract
Both the Louisiana legislature and the US Congress grade penalties according to weight of drugs possessed or distributed; a heavy weight tends to infer an intent to distribute. Accessory, unusable materials should not be included. However, in a case involving a suitcase made of cocaine mixed with other materials, the US First Circuit Court of Appeals based its sentencing on the total weight of the suitcase and not the cocaine itself. In another cocaine case, a carrier medium was not included in the drug weight. In an LSD case, blotter paper was included because it is inseparable from, and digested with, the drug. Revised statutes in Louisiana set parameters for drug weights and corresponding penalties, but it is not clear whether Louisiana courts will include drug carriers in determining drug weight. 98 footnotes