Opinion ID: 2210270
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Insufficient Evidence of Amount of Cocaine

Text: The defendant argues that the evidence was insufficient to prove that he dealt cocaine in an amount over three grams, a necessary element to convict him of dealing in cocaine as a class A felony. It is undisputed that the total weight of the packaged material purchased from the defendant on each of the two occasions exceeded three grams. The first set of packages, State's Exhibit W, had a total weight of 10.15 grams. The second set of packages, State's Exhibit X, had a total weight of 6.21 grams. The lab technician who tested the seized material combined the contents of several packages within each group and determined that each sample tested positive for cocaine, but the technician did not determine the relative purity of the cocaine in relation to its overall weight. The defendant contends that the State failed to establish that the defendant dealt in more than three grams of cocaine because the technician did not establish the relative purity of the sample. Our case law establishes, however, that [t]he total weight of the delivered drug and not its pure component is to be considered in prosecutions. Tobias v. State, 479 N.E.2d 508, 511 (Ind. 1985). We have found that the legislature intended to use the weight of the entire substance as delivered by the defendant, as this encompasses the common understanding of those in the drug trade. Woodson v. State, 501 N.E.2d 409, 410 (Ind.1986). The State was not required to prove purity of the product. The evidence of quantity was not.