Opinion ID: 752489
Heading Depth: 5
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Percentage of mixture used in determining sentence.

Text: 26 Previously, we have used the entire weight of a mixture to determine the appropriate sentence. See Innie I, 7 F.3d at 845; Beltran-Felix, 934 F.2d at 1076. However, in 1993, application note 1 to U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1 was amended to further define mixture or substance. Under the 1993 amendment, [m]ixture or substance does not include materials that must be separated from the controlled substance before the controlled substance can be used. U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1, comment. (n.1) (1995). We have held that the 1993 amendment to U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1 merely clarified the existing guideline rule and so applies retroactively. United States v. Innie, 77 F.3d 1207, 1209 (9th Cir.1996) (Innie II ). 27 If the sentencing court finds that the material seized was in a distributable form, the entire weight counts at sentencing. If, however, the material required further processing prior to distribution, only the weight of the pure drug is included. Id. (applying the 1993 amendment to U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1 and ruling that only the average of the mixture that was usable methamphetamine should be used in calculating defendant's sentence). 28 The Supreme Court's holdings in Neal v. United States, 516 U.S. 284, 116 S.Ct. 763, 133 L.Ed.2d 709 (1996), and Chapman v. United States, 500 U.S. 453, 111 S.Ct. 1919, 114 L.Ed.2d 524 (1991), are not to the contrary. Both Neal and Chapman dealt with LSD and whether the weight of the blotter paper used to hold the drug should be included in the weight used at sentencing. Both cases held that it should, but noted that LSD is normally distributed after dilution by some form of inert carrier. The law was designed to punish on the basis of the amount of drug distributed, rather than the amount of pure drug. Neal, 516 U.S. at 288-90, 116 S.Ct. at 766; Chapman, 500 U.S. at 461, 111 S.Ct. at 1925. Additionally, Chapman observed that the guidelines treat methamphetamine differently from LSD. Chapman, 500 U.S. at 459, 111 S.Ct. at 1924. Therefore, Chapman and Neal do not require that the entire weight of the mixture be used in establishing the sentence in Brinton's case. 29