Motion for Judgment of Acquittal Where Only Evidence Supporting Possession with Intent to Distribute is Amount of Methamphetamine Found

Draft motion arguing that finding many grams of methamphetamines does not necessarily support a conviction for possession with intent to distribute. Bottom of p. 1 through p. 3 explains that people addicted to methamphetamines use more frequently and in higher dosages than first-time users, using as much as one gram per day and rarely (but at least once) up to 15g in one day. Thus a person found with many grams of meth may only be a user rather than a dealer.  This data could also be used in other arguments, including: (1) a suppression argument that there is no probable cause to search a location for evidence of distribution when the quantity recovered or known about only suggests personal use; (2) a Rule of Evidence 403 argument limiting the testimony of a witness who wants to characterize a given quantity of meth as “a lot of drugs” or who wants to describe the client as a drug dealer or distributor; (3) a sentencing argument that a client is not as much of a danger to their community as someone actively selling drugs, despite the amount of drugs found.