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Sentencing commission hears competing views on methamphetamine thresholds and purity testing
Summary
Witnesses at the U.S. Sentencing Commission hearing urged the commission either to eliminate purity‑based meth distinctions (defenders, practitioners) or to preserve levels that track mandatory minimums (Department of Justice). Debate focused on disparate lab testing, possible cost savings, and whether a study of relative harms is needed before changing quantity thresholds.
Chair Carlton W. Reeves opened the hearing and introduced the first panel seeking comment on proposed sentencing guideline amendments.
Judge Edwin Chang, chair of the Judicial Conference Criminal Law Committee, told commissioners the committee generally supports treating methamphetamine the same “across the board” but opposes the complex, factor‑by‑factor approach labeled Option 2. He urged a study comparing relative harms of methamphetamine, fentanyl and other drugs before picking new quantity thresholds and said purity testing no longer maps reliably to culpability because most meth now tests very pure.
Department of Justice prosecutor Vincent Lombardi…
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