INTENT DETERMINES LEGALITY OF DRUGS

FRANKFORT, Ky. -- Possession of legal over-the-counter pharmaceuticals
is illegal when they are intended for use in manufacturing outlawed
drugs, the state Court of Appeals ruled yesterday.

When Danny W. Arndell Jr. was stopped by police in 1999, he had
"numerous boxes" of Sudafed and Actifed, plus a large number of
lithium batteries that had been stolen from two stores. The police
also found methamphetamine and a device that contained residue of the
drug.

Caldwell County Circuit Judge Bill Cunningham had agreed with Arndell
that the law prohibiting possession of "chemicals or equipment for
the manufacture of methamphetamine with the intent to manufacture
methamphetamine" is unconstitutional because it is so vague.

The appellate court reversed that ruling. Judge Paul Gudgel, who wrote
the unanimous ruling of the three-judge appellate panel, said there is
no right to possess the chemicals or equipment if the intent is to use
them to manufacture an illegal substance.

Neither the statute, nor the appellate court's ruling, however,
defines how much of the legal pharmaceuticals must be possessed in
order to prove intent to manufacture.

The appeals court's opinion may be reviewed by the Supreme
Court.