United States v. Francis Everett Foree and Christina Draznin

KRAVITCH, Circuit Judge:

The definition of “marihuana plant” under 21 U.S.C. § 841(b) and U.S.S.G. § 2Dl.l(c) is the central issue in this ease. We hold that, for sentencing purposes, cuttings and seedlings are not “marihuana plants” unless there is “some readily observable evidence of root formation.”

Francis Foree was convicted by a jury of felony possession of marijuana plants with intent to distribute in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) (Count I), felony possession of an unregistered sawed-off shotgun in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 5861(d) (Count IV), and misdemeanor conspiracy to possess…