Opinion ID: 767081
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Results of Reading Over-the-Counter Drugs Out of the Scope of S 841(d)(2)

Text: 24 Daas's reading of S 841(d)(2) would create a conspicuous gap in the scheme of the Controlled Substances Act. According to Roger Ely, a forensic chemist with the Drug Enforcement Administration who testified for the government at Daas's trial, traffickers in precursor chemicals used to manufacture methamphetamine have in recent years dealt increasingly in over-the-counter medications containing precursors. Ely explained that the reason traffickers have turned away from pure ephedrine in favor of over-the-counter medications containing ephedrine is to circumvent the regulatory scrutiny attendant on transactions in pure ephedrine. 25 Thus, under Daas's reading of S 841(d)(2), even if fully aware that their products were used to manufacture methamphetamine, high-volume distributors of over-the-counter products containing precursor chemicals would escape serious criminal liability if not participating in a conspiracy. The size of the gap strongly suggests Daas's construction was not what Congress intended. See Mester, 879 F.2d at 567 (recognizing that the court interprets a statute to avoid unreasonable results).