Case Name: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Nazar Al BUSSAM, Defendant-Appellant
Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Jurisdiction: United States
Decision Date: 2013-03-21
Citations: 513 F. App'x 665
Docket Number: No. 11-50446
Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Nazar Al BUSSAM, Defendant-Appellant.
Judges: Before: WARDLAW and GOULD, Circuit Judges, and HADDON, District Judge.
Reporter: West's Federal Appendix
Volume: 513
Pages: 665–666

Head Matter:
UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Nazar Al BUSSAM, Defendant-Appellant.
No. 11-50446.
United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit.
Argued and Submitted March 4, 2013.
Filed March 21, 2013.
Benjamin Robert Barron, Curtis A. Kin, Esquire, Assistant U.S., Ariel Neuman, Assistant U.S., Jennifer M. Resnik, Assistant U.S., Office of the U.S. Attorney, Los Angeles, CA, for Plaintiff-Appellee.
Kenneth P. White, Brown, White & Newhouse LLP, Los Angeles, CA, for Defendant-Appellant.
Before: WARDLAW and GOULD, Circuit Judges, and HADDON, District Judge.
The Honorable Sam E. Haddon, United States District Judge for the District of Montana, sitting by designation.

Opinion:
MEMORANDUM
Nazar A1 Bussam appeals from the district court's order excluding proffered expert testimony and from his 84-month sentence. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 and 18 U.S.C. § 3742, and we affirm.
The district court did not abuse its discretion in excluding A1 Bussam's proffered expert testimony that physicians may, with a legitimate medical purpose, prescribe or distribute Schedule II controlled substances for maintenance or detoxification treatment. Congress has delegated to the Secretary of Health and Human Services the authority to determine the scope of professional practice for the medical treatment of narcotic addiction. See Gonzales v. Oregon, 546 U.S. 243, 271-72, 126 S.Ct. 904, 163 L.Ed.2d 748 (2006). The Secretary has not authorized the prescription or distribution of Schedule II controlled substances for use in maintenance or detoxification treatment of narcotic dependent persons. See 21 C.F.R. § 1306.07(d). Thus, the district court did not abuse its discretion in excluding A1 Bussam's proffered expert testimony.
Al Bussam's sentence was not substantively unreasonable. The district court gave due consideration to the Sentencing Guidelines and the factors listed in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a). Although A1 Bussam's 84-month sentence represented a six-month upward departure from the Guidelines range of 63-78 months, upon reviewing the record, we are not left with "a definite and firm conviction that the district court committed a clear error of judgment." United States v. Ressam, 679 F.3d 1069, 1087-88 (9th Cir.2012) (en banc) (noting that "review of the substantive reasonableness of a sentence is deferential and will provide relief only in rare cases").
AFFIRMED.
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3.