Smith's Criminal Case Compendium
Table of Contents
State v. Conway, 194 N.C. App. 73 (Dec. 2, 2008)
The evidence was insufficient to support the defendant’s methamphetamine trafficking convictions because G.S. 90-95(h)(3b) requires the state to prove the actual weight of the methamphetamine in a mixture. The defendant was convicted of trafficking by possession and manufacture of 400 grams or more methamphetamine. The state’s evidence consisted of 530 grams of a liquid that contained a detectable amount of methamphetamine. The exact amount of methamphetamine was not determined. The court noted that the trafficking statutes for methaqualone, cocaine, heroin, LSD, and MDA/MDMA specifically contain the clause “or mixture containing such substance,” whereas G.S. 90-95(h)(3b) for methamphetamine and as amphetamine does not contain that clause. [Author’s note: in 2009 the statute was revised to provide: “[a]ny person who sells, manufactures, delivers, transports, or possesses 28 grams or more of methamphetamine or any mixture containing such substance shall be guilty of a felony which felony shall be known as ‘trafficking in methamphetamine[.]’” (emphasis added).].