Opinion ID: 577187
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: statement of the facts and course of proceedings

Text: 3 The defendants, George Nye Osburn and Robert Allott Osburn, were arrested after having been observed tending a marijuana field in a federal recreational area. They were charged with two counts of drug offenses: conspiracy to manufacture in excess of 100 marijuana plants in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846, and manufacture in excess of 100 marijuana plants in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841. Each waived his right to a jury trial. George Osburn received a thirty-three month sentence and a $6,000 fine. Robert Osburn, his son, received an eighteen month sentence and a $4,000 fine. 4 Prior to their convictions, defendants filed a motion with the district court challenging the constitutionality of 21 U.S.C. § 841. After finding the defendants guilty of the two underlying drug counts, the district court held an evidentiary hearing to determine whether the sentencing provisions embodied in section 841 violated the due process rights of defendants. 5 During this hearing, defendants proffered Dr. Mahmoud A. ElSohly as an expert in the chemistry and botany of cannabis and the production of marijuana for research purposes. 1 Dr. ElSohly testified that he has a Drug Enforcement Administration license and has been growing marijuana under government supervision for fifteen years. At the time of the hearing, Dr. ElSohly's program was the only one in the United States in which marijuana was grown on a significant scale under a research grant from the government. Dr. ElSohly has a three-year contract with the National Institute of Drug Abuse to produce standardized marijuana for research. 6 Dr. ElSohly described the three types of marijuana plants. Each variety is characterized by the length of its growth cycle: eight weeks, twelve to sixteen weeks, and twenty to twenty-four weeks. The average weight of dried marijuana leaves obtainable from the quickest maturing plants ranges from one to two ounces. The medium maturing variant yields between two and twelve ounces of marijuana, and the plant with the longest period of maturity averages between four ounces and two pounds. 2 The biggest plant Dr. ElSohly ever grew yielded marijuana weighing approximately two pounds and was grown in an extremely congenial environment. Most of the plants grown under similarly optimum conditions produced only one pound of marijuana. Dr. ElSohly testified that he had never seen a plant weighing as much as a kilogram (2.2 pounds). 3 7 Most marijuana growers choose to cultivate the medium maturity variety because the short variety contains too little THC and the long variety takes too long to mature. Dr. ElSohly testified that a rough estimate of the weight of usable dry leaves derived from an average plant would be approximately 120 grams, or four ounces. In a two-year study conducted by Dr. ElSohly, he found that fully mature plants of the longest maturing variety yielded an average of 274 grams of marijuana. 8 Dr. ElSohly examined pictures of the marijuana seized in this case and testified that these plants were of the medium variety and were close to maturity. One of these plants was examined by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and had been assigned a wet weight of five ounces. 4 9 Based upon Dr. ElSohly's testimony and the briefs of the defendants, the district court found the sentencing scheme of section 841 and the corresponding sentencing guidelines unconstitutional. United States v. Osburn, 756 F.Supp. 571 (N.D.Ga.1991). The trial court held that: 10 there is no rational basis to support the Commission's 1000 grams per plant ratio for plants in groups of 50 or more. The record clearly demonstrates that a 1000 gram equivalency cannot be empirically supported.... [T]he court finds that the Guidelines' Drug Quantity Table is unconstitutional to the extent that it treats one plant as equivalent to 1000 grams. 11 Id. at 576. Using Dr. ElSohly's testimony that the seized plants were of the medium variety, the judge applied a 300 gram per plant equivalency and sentenced the defendants accordingly. 5 12 The government appeals, claiming that the sentencing scheme of section 841 is constitutional. The defendants cross-appeal, challenging the district court's 300 gram equivalency. They argue that the court should have applied a lower average yield in calculating their sentences.