U.S. v. Mire

Instant prosecution and conviction on charge that defendant conspired to possess and distribute “khat,” which contains two controlled substances (cathinone and cathine), did not violate defendant’s due process rights even though defendant alleged that Controlled Substance Act (CSA) and its regulations did not provide fair warning that possession of khat might be illegal. CSA specifically provided that cathinone and cathine are controlled substances, and instant charge required proof that defendant had actual knowledge that khat contained controlled substance. Moreover, record contained sufficient evidence to establish such knowledge where defendant’s statements to police, in which he denied ownership of khat, constituted strong circumstantial evidence that defendant knew that khat contained some sort of illegal substance. Ct. also rejected defendant’s claim that opinion by govt. expert regarding presence of cathinone and cathine in seized drug was based on unreliable testing procedures and methods in violation of Daubert.