12. Drug Offenses

(21 U.S.C. Sections 801 et seq.)

The majority of United States Attorneys' Offices which have a formal or informal declination policy or understanding concerning drug violations decline cases primarily on the basis of the amount of a particular drug involved. The amount varies according to District and drug:

a.

Marijuana. One District declines cases involving

One

less than amounts of marijuana which are clearly significant within the context of the community in which the marijuana is located, if possession of such marijuana is not in an obviously commercial setting or is not discovered in conjunction with amounts of other controlled substances. District declines cases involving one pound of marijuana. One District declines cases involving a single sale of marijuana in the absence of extraordinary circumstances, one of which may be a sale to school children, particularly on school grounds. That District's United States Attorney also declines prosecution for possession with intent to distribute marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.c. Section 841(a)(1)) if the amount seized is less than two pounds. One District also declines cases involving less than two pounds. Four Districts decline cases involving less than ten pounds; two less than 50 pounds; one less than 100 pounds; one less

than 200 pounds; two less than 400 pounds; and four less than 1,000 pounds.

b. Hashish. One District declines prosecution if the amount involved is less than one-half pound; one less than two pounds; three less than five pounds; and one less than ten pounds. One District evaluates on a case-by-case basis but generally declines those cases involving less than 50 pounds

as does one other District. Two Districts decline cases

involving less than 100 pounds. 1/

C.

Cocaine and Heroin. Fifteen Districts report a

blanket declination policy for cases involving cocaine and heroin where the amounts involved are under a certain quantity. E.g., two Districts decline cases involving less than 1/4 ounce; seven less than one ounce 2/; one less than two ounces; two less than three ounces of cocaine 3/. One District declines cases involving 4-1/2 ounces of herion (125 grams) and nine ounces of cocaine (250 grams). One District declines less than one and one-half pound of cocaine. One District declines cases involving less than 2.2 pounds (one kilo) of cocaine but less than 1.1 pounds (500 grams) of heroin. One District declines cases involving single sales of small amounts 4/ of

1/ 50 kilos.

2/ Additionally, two Districts decline cases involving less than one ounce of heroin although the amounts differ for cocaine.

3/ One of those Districts declines four ounces of heroin.

4/ There are no hard and fast rules to determine what is a small amount but the District typically declines cases which involve a "sizeable quantity."

street level 5/ heroin or cocaine. In addition, the District's United States Attorney declines felony prosecutions of addicts or users of heroin or cocaine under 21 U.S.C. Section 841(a) (Possession with Intent to Distribute) if the amount possessed is worth less than $75 (heroin) or $100 (cocaine) and there is no strong evidence of the necessary intent to distribute. For non-users and non-addicts, prosecution is declined if value is less than $50 (heroin) or less than $100 (cocaine) and no evidence of intent to distribute as referred to above (e.g., packaging, high percentage of drug, seizure of cutting materials or admissible evidence of other transactions involving the

defendants).

d.

Amphetamines and Barbiturates.

Two Districts decline cases involving less than 1,000 dosage units of barbiturates. While one of the Districts also declines cases involving less than 500 dosage units of amphetamines, the other District appears to have no blanket declination policy concerning these drugs. One District declines cases involving less than 2,500 dosage units of amphetamines or barbiturates; one declines cases involving less than 5,000 dosage units; two decline cases involving less than 10,000 dosage units of either drug; and one declines cases involving less than a total of 20,000 dosage units. One District declines cases where the potential defendant possesses a quantity of the

5/ "Street level" refers to the street level at the time of the sale.

drugs which does not exceed the normal prescription amount, or where there is a single illegal sale of a quantity worth less than $100 in the absence of aggravating circumstances where there is not "possession with intent to distribute" the drugs.

e.

Hallucinogens.

This group of drugs includes, among

others, LSD, PCP and peyote. Seven Districts report a blanket declination policy concerning this group when the quantity seized is under a certain set amount. E.g., one District declines cases involving less than two ounces of PCP; one declines prosecution in cases involving less than $75 worth of LSD or $100 worth of PCP; one declines cases involving less than 10 dosage units of LSD, less than one pound of peyote or less than one-half pound of any other hallucinogen; two decline cases involving less than 100 dosage units of any hallucinogens; and two decline cases involving less than 500 dosage units.

f. Other Dangerous Drugs. Eleven Districts report a blanket declination policy concerning certain amounts of a variety of other dangerous drugs. One District declines cases involving less than 100 milliliters of hashish oil; one declines cases involving less than two ounces of methamphetamine or 250 dosage units of any other dangerous drugs; two decline any case involving less than 100 dosage units of any dangerous drugs; one declines prosecution in any cases involving less than five ounces of hashish oil or less than 1,000 dosage units

of any other dangerous drugs; one declines prosecution in cases involving less than one liter of hashish oil or less than 1.1 pounds (500 grams) of any morphine based drugs; one declines cases involving less than two ounces of any dangerous drug; one declines cases involving less than 10,000 dosage units; two decline cases involving less than 25,000 dosage units and one declines cases involving less than 100,000 dosage units.

Thirteen

g. Other Bases for Automatic Declination. Districts decline cases if the offender is not a dealer, distributor or part of a conspiracy and is unable to provide information leading to the arrest and conviction of dealers or distributors (Class I or Class II violators). Four Districts decline cases involving possession of a small amount of drugs for personal use. Two Districts typically decline cases involving a single sale of drugs absent aggravating circumstances. Finally, one District declines cases which do not fall within the guidelines issued by the Drug Enforcement Administration and do not involve any aggravating circumstances which would otherwise warrant attention.