Opinion ID: 790004
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Conjunctive Versus Disjunctive Readings of the CSA's Analogue Provision

Text: 14 The particular constructional issue raised here is one of first impression for this Court. The CSA provides that certain substances, while not officially scheduled as controlled substances themselves, may be regulated as such if they meet the definition of a controlled substance analogue. The CSA defines a controlled substance analogue as a substance — 15 (i) the chemical structure of which is substantially similar to the chemical structure of a controlled substance in schedule I or II; 16 (ii) which has a stimulant, depressant, or hallucinogenic effect on the central nervous system that is substantially similar to or greater than the stimulant, depressant or hallucinogenic effect on the central nervous system of a controlled substance in schedule I or II; or 17 (iii) with respect to a particular person, which such person represents or intends to have a stimulant, depressant, or hallucinogenic effect on the central nervous system that is substantially similar to or greater than the stimulant, depressant, or hallucinogenic effect on the central nervous system of a controlled substance in schedule I or II. 18 21 U.S.C. § 802(32)(A) (2004). 19 As the old adage instructs, the devil is in the details — the relevant detail here being the single word or between clauses (ii) and (iii) of the definition. There are two possible readings of this definition. Under a disjunctive reading, a substance that satisfies any one of these three criteria qualifies as a controlled substance analogue. Under a conjunctive reading, the provision requires two things: (1) The substance in question must have a chemical structure substantially similar to a controlled substance (criterion one) and (2) it must either have a substantially similar effect on the central nervous system (criterion two) or be purported or intended to have such an effect (criterion three). 20 Both parties and the district court agree that the Seventh Circuit has yet to address this particular constructional issue. See 286 F.Supp.2d at 951. It is also undisputed that the district court submitted a disjunctive instruction to the jury with the intention of revisiting the issue if the special verdict forms showed that the two interpretations would lead to different results. In its disposition of Turcotte's motion for a post-trial acquittal or a new trial, the district court stated that it was actually inclined to agree with Turcotte's arguments for a conjunctive reading of the Act, but that such a determination ... does not affect defendant's conviction since [t]he jury's special verdict forms establish that the government proved all three elements of Section 802(32)(A) beyond a reasonable doubt with respect to GHB. Id. On appeal, the parties differ on the correctness of the district court's disjunctive instruction and its effect (or lack thereof) on Mr. Turcotte's conviction and sentencing. Turcotte contends that the district court's instruction was erroneous, and that it did indeed affect his ultimate sentence. This Court reviews de novo a district court's denial of a requested jury instruction. United States v. Slater, 348 F.3d 666 (7th Cir.2003). 21 Unfortunately, the text of the Controlled Substances Act analogue provision is not a model of clarity. Common sense and the practical implications of various interpretive options ultimately offer more guidance than the text and structure of § 802(32)(A) itself. As a matter of strict textual analysis, § 802(32)(A) is susceptible to either a disjunctive or a conjunctive reading. The word which in the beginning of clauses (ii) and (iii) could be construed to refer either to substance in the preface of the definition (favoring a disjunctive reading) or to chemical structure in clause (i) (favoring a conjunctive reading). Yet the vast majority of federal courts to confront this issue have adopted the conjunctive reading. United States v. Hodge, 321 F.3d 429, 433 (3d Cir.2003) (presenting in-depth analysis of the plain meaning and legislative history of § 802(32)(A)); United States v. Klecker, 348 F.3d 69, 71 (4th Cir.2003) (adopting the conjunctive reading); United States v. Washam, 312 F.3d 926, 930 n. 2 (8th Cir.2002) (adopting the conjunctive reading); United States v. McKinney, 79 F.3d 105, 107-08 (8th Cir.1996), vacated on other grounds, 520 U.S. 1226, 117 S.Ct. 1816, 137 L.Ed.2d 1025 (1997) (presenting the test in the conjunctive without further elaboration); United States v. Brown, 279 F.Supp.2d at 1240 (S.D.Ala.2003) (adopting the conjunctive reading); United States v. Vickery, 199 F.Supp.2d at 1371 (N.D.Ga.2002) (same); United States v. Clifford, 197 F.Supp.2d at 519-20 (E.D.Va.2002) (same); United States v. Forbes, 806 F.Supp. 232, 235 (D.Colo.1992) (reviewing the Act's legislative history and asserting that the conjunctive reading is required to prevent absurd results). See also United States v. Roberts, 363 F.3d 118, 121 (2d Cir.2004) (briefly surveying the relevant precedents and accepting the conjunctive reading). The only arguable exceptions are United States v. Fisher, 289 F.3d 1329, 1338 (11th Cir.2002), in which the Eleventh Circuit expressly declined to decide the issue, and United States v. Granberry, 916 F.2d 1008, 1010 (5th Cir.1990), in which the Fifth Circuit recited the test in the disjunctive without discussion or elaboration. 22 The majority of these courts base their rulings largely on the absurd results that might obtain under a disjunctive reading, noting that alcohol and caffeine could be criminalized as controlled substance analogues based solely on the fact that, in concentrated form, they might have depressant or stimulant effects similar to illegal drugs. See, e.g., Forbes, 806 F.Supp. at 235. Similarly, the sale of everyday substances could be criminalized if the seller merely represents that they are banned substances or have physiological effects similar to illegal drugs. See id. (Noting that under a disjunctive reading, the sale of powdered sugar could be criminalized if the seller represents that it is cocaine); Hodge, 321 F.3d 429 (rejecting a disjunctive approach and holding that selling a mixture of wax and flour is not criminalized merely because the seller represented it to be crack cocaine). 23 Moreover, the legislative history of the Act suggests that such bizarre consequences were not intended by Congress. The Act was intended primarily to prevent scientists from slightly modifying the chemical structure of banned drugs to create new designer drugs that would have similar physiological effects but would not be covered by the law's controlled substances schedules. See, e.g., Hodge, 321 F.3d 429 (conducting an extensive review of the Act's legislative history). According to one court, there is not a scintilla of evidence that Congress intended to cover and criminalize sales of legal substances such as flour, salt, ginseng, vitamin B, etc., merely because the seller represents that they will yield a stimulant, depressant, or hallucinogenic effect like that of a controlled substance. Clifford, 197 F.Supp.2d at 520-21. The court in Clifford also pointed out that Congress is capable of indicating an unambiguous disjunctive intent when it so desires: In at least one other provision of this very Act (§ 802(9)), a number of subordinate causes are listed in a fashion similar to § 802(32)(A), but each subsection is separated by the word or to indicate a clear disjunctive intent. Id. at 519-20. 24 Given that the text of the Act does not clearly demand either reading, we find the practical policy considerations identified by our sister courts compelling, especially when coupled with the Act's overall structure and legislative history. We therefore elect to heed the call of both accumulated precedent and common sense, joining the vast majority of federal courts in adopting the conjunctive reading of § 802(32)(A). Accordingly, the district court's disjunctive jury instruction was error. However, as will be discussed presently, this error was not ultimately prejudicial to Turcotte. 25 The parties' dispute over the import of the district court's disjunctive jury instruction seems to reflect fundamentally different readings of the jury's special verdict forms and the Presentence Investigation Report. Turcotte alleges that the jury found BD to be an analogue of GHB based on the fact that it satisfied only clause two of § 802(32)(A) (similar effect on the nervous system), and that therefore, since his conviction and sentence as to possession and distribution of BD was based on an erroneous disjunctive reading of the Act, he is entitled to relief in this Court. 26 The government responds by arguing that, since the jury found BD to satisfy only clause two of § 802(32)(A) (similar physiological effect), Mr. Turcotte was NOT convicted or sentenced for possession or distribution of BD at all. In effect, the government alleges that the jury and the probation officer preparing the Presentence Investigation Report (Appellant's Reply Br., Exh. 2.) read § 802(32)(A) conjunctively, notwithstanding the district court's disjunctive instruction. The government claims that Mr. Turcotte's sentence was based purely on his possession and distribution of GBL, which the jury found satisfied all three clauses of § 802(32)(A) (and thus would have qualified as an analogue of GHB under either a disjunctive or conjunctive reading of the Act). 27 The written record favors the government on this point. Turcotte's claims here seem to be moot. First, it is important to note that, by their own terms, Turcotte's arguments on this issue relate only to BD; both parties agree that the jury found GBL to meet all three clauses of § 802(32)(A), and thus that Mr. Turcotte would have been convicted for possession and distribution of GBL under either reading of the statute. As such, Turcotte's claims here only have traction if he was indeed convicted of possession with intent to distribute BD (as an analogue of GHB) and separately sentenced for this offense. The Presentencing Investigation Report reveals that Turcotte's conviction did not rest on his possession or distribution of BD, and it unequivocally states that his possession and distribution of BD did not affect calculation of his sentence. While the Report initially states that Mr. Turcotte was convicted of conspiring with Brian Gore to possess with the intent to distribute, and possessing with the intent to distribute, GHB, GBL, and BD, it later makes clear that the jury did not find BD to be a controlled substance analogue and, accordingly, that Mr. Turcotte's possession of BD did not play any role in his conviction or sentencing: 28 With specific regard to BD (1,4 Butanediol), the jury has returned a special verdict which states that BD is not a Schedule I Narcotic Drug Controlled Substance analogue, because BD's chemical structure is not significantly similar to the chemical structure of GHB. Thus the amounts of Flower Power (BD) and any other substances which contained BD are not included in the amounts of controlled substances for which the defendant is accountable, notwithstanding his possession and distribution of said substances. 29 Presentencing Investigation Report, Appellant's Reply Br., Exh. 2 at 20-21 (emphasis added). The Report then went on to state that even [i]f the Court were to rule that BD is a controlled substance analogue of GBL, a Schedule I depressant, in contravention of the jury's special verdict, the number of units of BD involved in this case ... would not increase the base offense level applicable to this offense.  Id. (emphasis added). 30 No matter how one looks at it, BD simply does not appear to have been factored into Mr. Turcotte's sentencing. Thus the district court's disjunctive jury instruction, while erroneous, cannot be said to have prejudiced Turcotte. In fact, the district court seems to presage this ruling in its order denying Turcotte's post-trial motion for a judgment of acquittal or a new trial, stating that it was actually inclined to agree with Turcotte's arguments for a conjunctive reading of the Act, but that such a determination ... does not affect defendant's conviction. 286 F.Supp.2d at 951. Given the prior absence of a clear ruling on the issue in this circuit, the district court's decision to have the jury rule separately on each element of the Analogue Provision appears an appropriate jurisprudential precaution. As such, we have no occasion to reverse the district court's ruling on this narrow constructional issue, though we hereby serve notice that courts in this circuit should henceforth apply a conjunctive reading of the CSA's Analogue Provision. 31