Does section 844(a) of the Federal Drug Control Act, which prohibits the possession of small amounts of drugs, make drug possession a crime?

MultiRegion, United States of America

The following excerpt is from U.S. v. Butler, 74 F.3d 916 (9th Cir. 1996):

[S]ection 844(a) does not attempt to divorce the prohibited act of drug possession from the drug quantities possessed. The statute contains no separate penalty section, but rather interweaves both definitional and penalty provisions throughout. Presented with this schema, we conclude that the statute makes drug quantity an integral part of the crime definition.

United States v. Puryear, 940 F.2d 602, 603-04 (10th Cir.1991).

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