People v. Karmelich

In People v. Karmelich (1979) 92 Cal.App.3d 452, defendant was found to be in possession of nine balloons containing "a substance resembling heroin." A chemical analysis confirmed that there was heroin in the substance, but not how much (except that it was at least one part per thousand). The argument presented was the same as in this case: that in the absence of further quantification there was not enough evidence of a usable quantity of heroin. The argument was rejected. The court pointed out that People v. Leal (1966) discussed but did not overrule cases that had upheld convictions based upon only minute quantities of narcotics. It condemned cases in which no more than a residue, pointing to prior use, had been found. "The decision in Leal must be limited to such cases, where only a residue unuseable for any purpose, is found; it does not extend to cases such as this, comparable to the cases distinguished in Leal, where the presence of heroin itself, not a mere blackened residue on a spoon, was discovered." (92 Cal.App.3d at p. 456.)