Opinion ID: 2996907
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: It’s when the anhydrous ammonia, the lithium

Text: strips, and the pseudoephedrine are combined. It starts producing the methamphetamine. I mean, it’s not powder form, it’s a liquid type of form, but that’s when that chemical reaction takes place to produce the methamphetamine. Q. So, the methamphetamine at that point is in a li- quid form? A. Yes, sir. Q. So, the methamphetamine, does it have any—in the liquid form, does it have any value, as far as mar- ketability? Could it be sold and used at that point? A. Yes, sir. Q. And how is that? A. There’s been people that will buy the liquid meth, also, and people that use the liquid meth out there, also, methamphetamine base. They’ll drink it or other various ways to use it that way. Q. Can it be injected? A. Probably not in that way. I think it’s more or less drank that way. Q. But you can—you say it does have a market in that stage. A. Yes, sir. 6 No. 03-1857 Q. And did I also hear your answer is that some people might use it in that stage? A. Yes, sir. Q. How? A. It’s a very pure form of meth. I’ve interviewed other users, and they’ve said that they’ve drank it before. Sentencing Tr. at 38-39. If Agent Folven was referring to methamphetamine base throughout this portion of his testimony, then there is no evidence that the solution possessed by Stewart had reached the stage in processing where it could have been sold to others for completion. The district court also read three opinions from other circuits as holding that when a defendant is caught in the process of manufacturing drugs, the sentencing court can include in the drug weight anything found no matter its stage of completion. Two of the three cases, though, actually reach the opposite conclusion—that what is unusable; i.e., not consumable as a drug, must be excluded in calculating drug weight. See United States v. Newsome, 998 F.2d 1571, 1575-79 (11th Cir. 1993) (“the gross weight of ‘unusable mixtures’ should not be equated with the weight of a controlled substance for sentencing purposes”; applying sentencing guidelines); United States v. Sprague, 135 F.3d 1301, 1306 (9th Cir. 1998) (drug weight must exclude substances that must be removed to render solution containing methamphetamine usable; applying guidelines). Only one of the cases arguably supports the district court’s drug quantity finding. See United States v. Beltran-Felix, 934 F.2d 1075, 1076 (9th Cir. 1991) (holding that entire weight of solution containing small amount of methamphetamine should be used to calculate mandatory minimum sentence under § 841(b) even though solution was in early stage of production). No. 03-1857 7