United States v. Todd Kelly Roberts, AKA "Dr. Conan", Michael Toback

CALABRESI, Circuit Judge.

The government appeals from the judgment of the district court (Sweet, /.), dismissing the indictments against the defendants on the ground that the definition of “controlled substance analogue,” 21 U.S.C. § 802(32)(A), as applied to 1,4-butanediol, is unconstitutionally vague. We conclude that, because 1,4-butanediol both (a) differs from gamma hydroxybutyric acid (“GHB”), a Schedule I controlled substance, by only two atoms and (b) converts into GHB upon ingestion, it is sufficiently clear that 1,4-butanediol is “substantially similar [in] chemical structure” to…