Are substances banned in the United States by chemical class or pharmacological action? Is there a difference in criminal liability for classical substances and their analogues?
HIGGS BOSSONI was going to post this into another thread, but it seems to fit here OK... maybe it is worth something or helps elaborate. Left a little after thought on the end.
Depending on the exact definition of the "analog act" ... is this true - that only schedule I and II substances fall under this legislation?
Or does it mean, rather, that any analog, no matter the parent, becomes either I or II. For example, ketamine analogs should be prosecuted as ketamine would be, as schedule III, you would think. However, I see Methoxetamine listed under schedule I as of 6/6/22. The guideline being: high potential for abuse and addiction, no accepted medical use. It is interesting to see all the 'ketamine assisted therapy' ads when searching. I didn't realize that was such a popular (and accepted) thing. Yet the analog skipped a step and cannot possibly be used therapeutically. I love how most of the benzo family is schedule IV also. 'Low(er) potential for addiction' ...Yeah good call...
I would like to think it is NOT true. All signs seem to point to yes though. I think there is a bit of wiggle room as far as everything in general, after all, I did over 2 years in prison for selling some kind of a cathinone or mda analog to a narc about 10 years ago. Fortunately, whatever I got caught with, "ethylone" is a schedule I substance. Keep in mind though, this is on the federal level. This is where that grey area is. I was charged on the state level, where I pleaded out to trafficking a "class C substance". What made it considered 'trafficking' was the quantity involved. I can't seem to find the guidelines but I believe it has to be over 20 grams or something in my state, for it to be considered trafficking of class c.
https://www.justcriminallaw.com/drug-charges/2018/05/23/differences-state-federal-drug-crimes/
Not my state, but they do a little explaining here. It is a good thing I didn't get mixed up with the feds because my ethylone may as well have been fentanyl to them.
As schedule I, I would have been looking at a whole different situation if that were the case.
This should be food for thought for most of us though, I think, atleast in the USA. If you get caught fucking around with the mail, guess what? Fed time. Doing things over state lines? Fed time. Some of us, depending on what we're doing, we might want to reconsider our actions and reevaluate the game plan. This is why stealth and opsec are so important. If everything goes down just the right way, a package might end up costing you the rest of your freedom in this lifetime. Or even something as stupid as missing your exit on the freeway, and you ended up over state lines on accident. Say you lived in the tri-state area (NY/NJ/CT) for example (it really is that easy to end up in another state without trying in that area, anyway..). You were on your way to drop off a package and some kid crashed into you, now what? You had two pounds of a research chemical in your trunk and got rear ended, straight slammed!, and now the product.. it looks like rock salt, or meth, is all over the place, on the street, in your trunk, etc. Witnesses everywhere, can't run, can't conceal anything, can't do shit. What might have been maybe a 3 year sentence max on state level, has now turned into 15 years minimum mandatory federal, where they count sentences in months. 15 years... or 180 months... This is, of course, a hypothetical situation, but this type of shit happens more than we know. Remember, we have to be completely right every time. 'The Man' only needs to be half way right and a little lucky, or dirty and manipulative, just once.
