Hey, all.
Here’s one that I’ve always wondered if it was reality or legand.
I’ve always heard that a large possesion of LSD counted against you legally as various counts of manslaughter.
Of course, I’ve always heard it in the context of, “Hey, man! You get charged with a count of manslaughter for every hit you’ve got over three. I knew this one dude who’s brother got put away for life for 10 hits!” Or some such variation.
A quick search on this got me nowhere.
Thanks for any input.
Craig
If you gave somebody LSD without their knowledge, and they either killed themselves or somebody else… perhaps, but I know of no legal precedence.
Just possessing the drug would not be a count of manslaughter. Especially if nobody was slaughtered 
yeah, this was my thought too. I’d just heard it so many times from different people. Has anyone else heard this or a variation of it? It comes to mind that I also may have heard “attempted manslaughter”, though this makes even less sense to me, as I’ve always understood manslaughter to mean that you specifically didn’t attempt it.
I have known of a person who was arrested with more than “10 hits” and did a couple of years of jail time. This was several yaers ago, it was a female, and was in a conservative midwestern city. At the time it seeme very harsh punishment. I know her father helped but I do not know what to extent. ( I percievieved it ti be quite extensive.)
This makes precisely no sense (like the WoD in general, but still). What is the rationale? Hiding all that poison means you must be trying to kill someone? I probably have more `poison’ concealed about my PC (lead and mercury in the monitor, gallium arsenide semiconductors, hell, ground glass and metal if nothing else) than anyone would have in drugs. If that’s the general idea, farmers must be royally screwed.
Farmer: That’s pesticide.
Officer: No, that’s manslaughter.
Second, manslaughter is the taking of someone’s life without intent or malice aforethought. (I think. I’m getting rusty on my Legal.) Attempted manslaughter is a reward for being too stupid to pull it off. How does having ten tons of windowpane fit those descriptions, even in general?
Penalties for LSD can be harsh, but they certainly don’t charge you with a crime you didn’t commit.
There are lots of bizarre urban legends about LSD. Another popular one is “Take x number of hits and you’re legally insane.” There are also plenty of people who believe that LSD is laced with strychnine, and even more who think that the only way you can be drug tested for LSD is by a spinal tap. And then there are the fools who think you can make LSD in your kitchen, if only you use the right “recipe.” :rolleyes:
Sadly, most people never even call up a URL, much less pick up a book, to verify these things, and they get repeated as fact.
Apparently my female friend was in the “wrong place at the wrong time”, being with someone else who was being followd for drug possesion.
According to the DEA,
According to the DEA, these are the penalties for trafficing LSD:
for 1 - 9 gms mixture:
First Offense: Not less than 5 yrs, and not more than 40 yrs. If death or serious injury, not less than 20 or more than life. Fine of not more than $2 million if an individual, $5 million if not an individual
Second Offense: Not less than 10 yrs, and not more than life. If death or serious injury, life imprisonment. Fine of not more than $4 million if an individual, $10 million if not an individual
10 gms or more mixture:
First Offense: Not less than 10 yrs, and not more than life. If death or serious injury, not less than 20 or more than life. Fine of not more than $4 million if an individual, $10 million if not an individual.
Second Offense: Not less than 20 yrs, and not more than life. If death or serious injury, life imprisonment. Fine of not more than $8 million if an individual, $20 million if not an individual.
2 or More Prior Offenses: Life imprisonment
It should be noted that these are standard penalties for Cocaine, Cocaine base, Heroin, LSD, PCP, and a couple others as well as LSD (http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/agency/penalties.htm). Marijuana and class II and III drugs are handled differently.
It should also be noted that federal penalties for vouluntary manslaughter are fines and not more than 10 years, and fines and not more than 6 years for involuntary manslaughter (http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/18/1112.html). Less, it seems, than trafficing LSD, though state law may vary.
This statement makes even less sense if you are aware that there is no known lethal dose of LSD for a human.
[Benny Hill]
(Poirot)(or somebody): Sir, I cahrge you with man’s laughter!
(McCloud)(or somebody else): Man’s laughter?
[/Benny Hill]
RR
Let’s older dopers not forget that in the late 70’s distribution of LSD was considered treason and a crime against the United States. And After The Frank Olson Murder the government decided to change it’s policies on taking LSD and other Leary-esque drugs…
LSD crimes are charged by weight of the carrier. Given the absurdly small doses of LSD on blotter paper, the government decided, “Hey, why don’t we just weigh the paper that its on instead?” Makes [no] sense to me.
Really? Sounds like an urban legend to me, considering that treason is specifically defined in the Article 3 of the Constitution:
This is correct. There have been people charge with possession of several grams of LSD (millions of doses), when the actual amount of chemical involved is in the milligram range (hundreds of doses). The paper is a delivery mechanism, not a drug. It would be like charging someone for possession of five pounds of marijuana because that’s how much his bong weighs.
Absurd, to say the least.
well at least it works both ways. A smart drug dealer would only carry pure LSD (a couple of mgs), and divide it up at point of sale (here you are sir, 40 microgrammes of acid). On a sliding scale, 2mgs of LSD would surely be only be worth a day in jail according to the DEA going rates.