Opinion ID: 783044
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Nalmefene

Text: 30 The parties agree that nalmefene is not a controlled substance under federal law because it is expressly excluded from the federal schedules by 21 C.F.R. § 1308.12(b)(1). If nalmefene is likewise licit in Connecticut, then Gousse's Connecticut conviction was for selling something else, and the conviction necessarily was for selling a controlled substance as defined by federal law. 31 The Attorney General argues that nalmefene is licit under Connecticut law because the substance: is not covered by the statutory definition of narcotic substance in Conn. Gen.Stat. § 21a-240(30); is not listed on any Connecticut schedule; and is an analogue of naltrexone, a substance that is specifically excluded from the Connecticut schedules. Gousse contends that nalmefene is an opiate derivative (and thus defined as a narcotic substance under Conn. Gen.Stat. § 21a-240(30)(A)(i)), and that it is distinct from naltrexone. 32 There is support for Gousse's view that nalmefene and naltrexone are distinct substances, see, e.g., Barbara J. Mason et al., A Double-blind, Placebo-Controlled Study of Oral Nalmefene for Alcohol Dependence, 56 Archives Gen. Psychiatry 719, 719 (1999) (Nalmefene is a newer opioid antagonist that is structurally similar to naltrexone but with a number of potential pharmacological and clinical advantages for the treatment of alcohol dependence.), and therefore that Connecticut's tolerance of naltrexone does not mean that nalmefene is licit as well (absent any contrary conclusion by the Connecticut courts). However, there is no basis for concluding that nalmefene is within the statutory definition of narcotic substance in Conn. Gen.Stat. § 21a-240(30)(A)(i), which includes only such opiate derivatives as are similar [to opium and opiates] in chemical structure or which are similar thereto in physiological effect and which show a like potential for abuse.  Conn. Gen.Stat. § 21a-240(30)(A)(i) (emphasis added). Gousse concedes that nalmefene is non-addictive, but argues that section 21a-240(30)(A)(i) does not necessarily exclude all non-addictive narcotics. In any event, section 21a-240(30)(A)(i) only embraces opiate derivatives that inter alia have a like potential for abuse, and no such showing has been made. The study on which Gousse chiefly relies indicates that nalmefene has no abuse potential at all. See Mason et al., supra, at 719 (Like naltrexone, nalmefene is a pure opioid antagonist with no agonist activity and no abuse potential.  (emphasis added)). Moreover, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a label for an FDA-approved drug called Revex (the brand name of nalmefene hydrochloride) that suggests the same conclusion. See http://www.fda.gov/cder/foi/label/2000/20459S2lbl.pdf (last visited July 24, 2003) (Revex has not been shown to produce tolerance, physical dependence, or abuse potential.  (emphasis added)). Therefore, Gousse's conviction could not have arisen from selling nalmefene, because that substance was not proscribed in Connecticut. 7 33       34 In sum, Gousse cannot identify a substance that was both (i) within the Connecticut definition of narcotic substance and (ii) outside the federal definition of controlled substance. Applying the categorical approach of Jobson v. Ashcroft, 326 F.3d 367, 371-72 (2d Cir.2003), we conclude that Gousse's Connecticut conviction for the sale of hallucinogen/narcotic under section 21a-277(a) was necessarily a conviction for illicit trafficking in a controlled substance, a removable aggravated felony under the INA. 8 35 Finally, Gousse relies on several unpublished BIA decisions for the proposition that aliens convicted under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 21a-277 have not necessarily been convicted of an aggravated felony. This Court of course owes no deference to the BIA's interpretation of state and federal criminal laws. See id. at 371. Indeed, the BIA itself accords no precedential value to its own unreported decisions. See 8 C.F.R. § 1003.1(g). In any event, the cases cited are inapposite. 9