State v. Kellogg

600 P.2d 787, 100 Idaho 483, 1979 Ida. LEXIS 468
Idaho Supreme Court·Decided September 26, 1979·No. 12434·Published·Cited by 11 cases

Opinions

McFADDEN, Justice.

Following trial before a jury, defendant-appellant Roscoe A. Kellogg, who asserts he is a naturopathic physician, was found guilty of the crime of unlawful possession (i. e., without prescription) of a controlled substance, amobarbital and secobarbital, a misdemeanor. After denying defense motions for new trial, motion for acquittal and motion for arrest of judgment, the trial court entered its judgment of conviction, and sentenced the defendant to a $500 fine and a term of six months in the county jail. However, the trial court suspended the jail term and placed the defendant on probation for two years. The defendant appealed from that judgment. This court affirms the judgment for the reasons hereinafter discussed.

Appellant first assigns as error (this appeal having been taken prior to effective date.of the Idaho Appellate Rules adopted in 1977) the denial of his motion to suppress. A brief recital of the facts in this regard is in order. Prior to institution of this action an affidavit for a search warrant was filed, seeking authority to search the premises where appellant maintained his office. In this affidavit, L. A. Galland, the director of the City (Nampa) and County (Canyon) Narcotics and Major Crimes Intelligence Division, stated that a certain individual had purchased arthritic medication from appellant (tests reflected that the medication so purchased was a drug with the trade name of Prednisolone). Thereafter a detective under affiant’s direction purchased without a prescription more arthritic medication from appellant, supposedly for the use of the first individual. The affidavit further recited that the affiant was advised by a member of the State Board of Pharmacy that appellant was not a person authorized by law to sell or dispense prescription drugs. The search warrant was issued, reciting that there was probable cause to believe that prescription drugs had been dispensed by persons not qualified to dispense them and without a valid prescription, and that prescription drugs, with file records indicating who had purchased various prescription drugs, were located on appellant’s premises. The search warrant ordered an immediate search for this property, i. e., prescription drugs and the file records.

Pursuant to the search warrant, officers searched appellant’s premises and found Prednisolone, together with many other drugs of various kinds, including the capsules that form the basis of the instant action. These capsules were later identified by the State as containing a mixture of amobarbital and secobarbital, which is manufactured under the trade name of Tuinal.

Appellant moved to suppress the evidence obtained under the search warrant in this case and also in a related case, State v. Kellogg, which involved the drug Prednisolone. In the related case, the district court ruled that I.C. § 37-2210, which makes the unauthorized dispensing of Prednisolone a criminal offense, was unconstitutional. In the instant case appellant argues that the search warrant was invalid because it was based on a showing that appellant had dispensed Prednisolone, and since the district court held I.C. § 37-2210 to be unconstitutional there was no probable cause to be[486] lieve that a criminal offense had been committed.

This court’s decision in the related case, State v. Kellogg, 98 Idaho 541, 568 P.2d 514 (1977), which reversed the district court’s judgment and upheld the constitutionality of I.C. § 37-2210, disposes of appellant’s argument. Since the statute making the unauthorized dispensing of Prednisolone a criminal offense is not unconstitutional, there was probable cause to support the search warrant which resulted in the discovery of the capsules at issue. Moreover, the search warrant satisfies all the legal requisites set forth in I.C. § 19 — 4401, et seq., and I.C.R. 41. Cf. People v. Schmidt, 172 Colo. 285, 473 P.2d 698 (1970). Consequently, the district court properly denied appellant’s motion to suppress the capsules.

Next appellant contends that his conviction must be reversed because the State failed to allege or prove that he acquired the capsules after the effective date of I.C. § 37-2732(c)(2), the statute under which he was convicted. That statute provides in relevant part:

“It is unlawful for any person to possess a controlled substance unless the substance was obtained directly from, or pursuant to, a valid prescription . . ., or except as otherwise authorized by this act.”

In support of his contention, appellant argues that the above statute was not intended to prohibit the continued possession of substances obtained prior to the effective date of the statute; and that if I.C. § 37-2732(cX2) is interpreted otherwise, it amounts to an unwarranted retroactive application of the statute. Appellant also argues that if I.C. § 37-2732(c)(2) applies to substances obtained before that statute’s effective date, it is unconstitutional because it deprives persons of their property without just compensation. Thus, it is appellant’s theory that if he obtained the capsules prior to the effective date of I.C. § 37-2732(c), he has a vested right to keep them without liability for criminal prosecution.

Appellant’s argument raises two primary issues: (1) Is I.C. § 37-2732(c) applicable to controlled substances which were acquired prior to the effective date of that statute? (2) If so, is the statute constitutional? For the reasons discussed below, we answer both questions in the affirmative.

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State v. Kellogg, 600 P.2d 787, 100 Idaho 483, 1979 Ida. LEXIS 468 (Idaho 1979).

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