People v. Harper

This appeal was taken after the defendant was convicted of violating C.R.S. 1963, 48-5-20, sale of a narcotic drug. It is undisputed that a sale occurred. The issues are (1) whether the substance sold was the alleged narcotic drug — “cocaine” — within the meaning of the statute, and (2) whether the statute is defective because of an unconstitutional delegation of legislative power.

A prosecution expert testified that the substance which he tested contained a certain percentage of cocaine. On cross-examination, the expert testified that “pseudococaine” — a chemically distinct stereoisomer of…