Opinion ID: 1664017
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: possession of a controlled substance

Text: Bolen contends that his conviction for possession of a controlled substance cannot be upheld since the amount of cocaine found in each pipe was not measurable. Testing by the Commonwealth revealed that a non-weighable amount of residue existing on each pipe contained the molecular structure of cocaine. Bolen asserts that the statute calls for any quantity and that quantity implies a measurable amount. See KRS 218A.1415(1). This argument is directly contrary to this Court's holding in Commonwealth v. Shivley, Ky., 814 S.W.2d 572 (1991), that possession of cocaine residue ... is sufficient to entitle the Commonwealth's charge to go to a jury when there is other evidence or the inference that defendant knowingly possessed the controlled substance. Id. at 574. Similar to this case, testing in Shivley revealed cocaine residue that could not be accurately weighed. However, this Court declared that the quantity of the controlled substance possessed is immaterial to the criminality of the act. Id. at 573. See also Commonwealth v. Harrelson, Ky., 14 S.W.3d 541, 549-50 (2000). Therefore, the existence of cocaine residue on each pipe was sufficient to support a conviction under KRS 218A.1415(1).