Opinion ID: 564350
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Plaster of Paris

Text: 24 The government first submits that the defendant should be sentenced for the weight of the plaster of paris. It is not clear what the Guidelines intend in this case or whether the Commission considered this circumstance. With respect to possession of the 985 grams of plaster as an aggravating circumstance, the Guidelines say only that the weight of a controlled substance set forth in the table refers to the entire weight of any mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of the controlled substance. 6 There is no evidence that the Commission considered a case in which the cocaine is separately wrapped in a plastic bag inside a mixture of plaster and not adulterated or alloyed with the plaster. If the grains of cocaine were mixed with the grains of plaster, the government would be on firmer ground in arguing that the Commission considered this circumstance. The District Court and the probation officer erred in concluding that the sentencing sequence under the statute and the sentencing guidelines mechanically requires an offense level of 26 for this reason.