Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-ca10-91-06092/USCOURTS-ca10-91-06092-0/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 510
Nature of Suit: Prisoner Petitions - Vacate Sentence
Cause of Action: 

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PUBLISH 

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS 

TENTH CIRCUIT 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 

Plaintiff-Appellee, 

v. 

JOHNNY R. YOUNGBLOOD, 

Defendant-Appellant. 

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FILED 

U nitoo States Court qf Appeals Tenth Circuit 

NOV 2 5 1991 

ROBERT L. HOECKER 

Clerk 

No. 91-6092 

APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF OKLAHOMA 

(D.C. No. CIV-90-1455-T) 

Submitted on the briefs: 

Johnny R. Youngblood, Defendant-Appellant, prose. 

Timothy D. Leonard, United States Attorney, and Leslie M. 

Kaestner, Assistant United States Attorney, Oklahoma City, 

Oklahoma, for Plaintiff-Appellee. 

Before ANDERSON, TACHA, and BRORBY, Circuit Judges. 

TACHA, Circuit Judge. 

Appellate Case: 91-6092 Document: 010110097024 Date Filed: 11/25/1991 Page: 1 
Defendant-Appellant Johnny Youngblood appeals an order of the 

district court denying his motion to vacate, set aside, or correct 

a sentence pursuant to 28 u.s.c. § 2255. Although Youngblood 

raises four separate issues on appeal, the ground for each 

contention is that 21 U.S.C. § 812, et seq., and 21 C.F.R. 

§ 1308.22 specifically exclude methamphetamine from the schedules 

of controlled substances, and, therefore, he did not violate the 

Controlled Substances Act. We exercise jurisdiction under 28 

u.s.c. § 1291 and affirm. 1 

Youngblood, along with codefendant, Alan Raz, was charged 

with violations of 21 u.s.c. § 841(a)(l), involving the 

distribution of methamphetamine, 21 u.s.c. § 846, conspiracy to 

distribute methamphetamine, and 18 u.s.c. § 924(c), possession of 

a firearm during and relating to drug trafficking. Youngblood 

entered a plea of guilty to one count of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(l) and 

one count of 18 u.s.c. § 924(c). He was sentenced to sixty months 

and twenty-seven months, respectively, with the sentences to run 

consecutively. 

Youngblood asserts that methamphetamine is not a controlled 

substance and, therefore, should not be subject to the Controlled 

Substances Act. To arrive at this conclusion, Youngblood relies 

on 21 u.s.c. § 811(g)(l), which provides that 

[t]he Attorney General shall by regulation 

exclude any non-narcotic substance from a 

schedule if such substance may, under the 

1 After examining the briefs and appellate record, this panel 

has determined unanimously that oral argument would not materially 

assist the determination of this appeal. See Fed. R. App. P. 

34(a); 10th Cir. R. 34.1.9. The case is therefore ordered 

submitted without oral argument. 

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Appellate Case: 91-6092 Document: 010110097024 Date Filed: 11/25/1991 Page: 2 
Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, be 

lawfully sold over the counter without a 

prescription. 

Appellant next asserts that both Rynal and Vicks Inhaler nose 

sprays contain methamphetamine isomers and, therefore, 

methamphetamine is sold over the counter and is exempt from the 

Controlled Substances Act. 

In United States Y..:.. Roark, 924 F.2d 1426 (8th Cir. 1991), the 

Eighth Circuit addressed precisely this issue and concluded that 

methamphetamine is "properly classified as a Schedule II 

controlled substance pursuant to 21 C.F.R. 1308.12(d)." Id. at 

1428. We agree. The flaw in Youngblood's contention is that the 

FDA did not approve methamphetamine for over-the-counter sale. 

Instead, the FDA approved the Rynal and Vicks inhalers, which 

contain a combination of ingredients, including a diluted isomer 

of methamphetamine. 

Under 21 C.F.R. § 1308.12(d), methamphetamine or its isomers 

is a Schedule II controlled substance unless specially excepted. 

The FDA has granted a specific exception for the ingredients 

contained in the Rynal and Vicks inhalers. However, other uses or 

combinations of methamphetamines or its isomers remain controlled 

substances under Schedule II until the FDA approves and authorizes 

a specific exception. Thus, we conclude that methamphetamine is a 

Schedule II controlled substance pursuant to 21 C.F.R. 

§ 1308.12(d). See also United States Y..:.. Kendall, 887 F.2d 240 

(9th Cir. 1989); United States Y..:.. Schrock, 855 F.2d 327 (6th Cir. 

1988). 

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Appellate Case: 91-6092 Document: 010110097024 Date Filed: 11/25/1991 Page: 3 
Youngblood's motion to proceed in forma pauperis is GRANTED. 

See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a). The district court order denying 

Youngblood's motion is AFFIRMED. The mandate shall issue 

forthwith. 

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Appellate Case: 91-6092 Document: 010110097024 Date Filed: 11/25/1991 Page: 4