Opinion ID: 767081
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Comparison of Subsections (a) and (d)(2) of S 841

Text: 15 According to Daas, a comparison ofS 841(d)(2) to another subsection of the same statute, namely, subsection (a), signals an intentional exclusion of mixtures from the scope of (d)(2). Subsection (a) is analogous to subsection (d)(2) in that subsection (a) criminalizes the distribution of a controlled substance, while (d)(2) criminalizes the distribution of a listed chemical, i.e., any chemical listed at 21 U.S.C. S 802(34) & (35). Subsection (a) refers only to a controlled substance. Similarly, subsection (d)(2) refers only to a listed chemical. The term controlled substances,  however, is defined to encompass specific substances both in pure form and in mixtures with other, non-prohibited ingredients. See, e.g., 21 U.S.C. SS 812, Schedule II(a) (listing controlled substances); 841(b) (listing penalties for violation of subsection (a)). In contrast, the provisions defining listed chemical, 21 U.S.C. S 802(34), and (35), name ephedrine and pseudoephedrine, among other chemicals, without making reference to mixtures. Daas argues that because Congressknew how to define substances to encompass mixtures as well as the substances in their pure forms but failed to so define listed chemical, Congress did not intend that listed chemical in S 841(d)(2) encompass both pure listed chemicals and mixtures containing them. 16 Daas's argument fails. Other provisions of the Controlled Substances Act criminalize mixtures even where only pure substances are initially specified. Daas relies on the schedules at S 812 to assert that subsection (a)'s prohibition on controlled substance criminalizes some substances as mixtures while criminalizing others in pure form only. This interpretation of subsection (a) is belied by a careful comparison of substances listed at S 812 and the related penalties specified at S 841(b). For example subsection (a), read together with S 802(6) (defining controlled substances) and S 812 (setting forth the five schedules of controlled substances), initially appears to criminalize conduct involving heroin in its pure form only. See 21 U.S.C. S 812, Schedule I(b)(10). This impression dissolves after a review of S 841(b)(1)(A)(i), which imposes a ten-year mandatory minimum sentence for conduct involving a mixture containing heroin. Thus subsection (a) criminalizes mixtures containing a controlled substance even when that controlled substance is defined by S 812 in its pure form only. It follows that a listed chemical criminalized at subsection (d) includes mixtures containing a listed chemical as well as such a chemical in its pure form. 17